Adrift in Forgotten Memories
by Melorama
Summary: When a woman appears on Tony's doorstep with no memories of her past, they must work together to figure out who she is and where she comes from. Trouble lies ahead for this pair. Will they make it? Rated T because I'm paranoid. No known pairings as of now.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with the MCU, that right belongs to Stan Lee and Marvel Studios. I only own my character and the plot that I made up.**

 **So I've recently gotten into Marvel and decided to write something, and this is what I came up with. As of the moment I have no idea where this story is going, so you guys can guess as much as I when it comes to future plots. This story will be based in the first Iron Man movie and follow the events with my own twist to it.** **I hope you enjoyed reading my story!**

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I saw stars. Thousands of bright white circles shined in the inky blackness of the night, almost seeming to pulsate with energy.

My eyes stared unblinkingly up at the heavens for what seemed like minutes before they travelled down... down… all the way down to my body.

I blinked once.

I wiggled my toes.

I flexed my fingers.

"What…?" I whispered, my voice hoarse as if I hadn't spoken in weeks. Where was I? What was I doing… wherever the hell I was? _Who was I?_

Vaeta Callahan. The name seemed to come out of nowhere from within my mind. I didn't know anyone with that name, so therefore it _must_ be mine.

Vaeta Callahan. I repeated it in my mind a couple of times. It had a nice ring to it, I suppose. It would do for now.

I had no idea how long I lay there, the long blades of grass tickling my back through the thin material of my shirt; the stars winking at me from above; a cool wind breezing over my exposed arms and legs, but eventually I slowly lifted my head. My right arm automatically moved so my elbow was taking all the weight from my body, and eventually I was in a sitting position.

My eyes moved over my body, inspecting every last detail. I was somewhat pale, well-muscled and long-legged, though how I knew all that I had no idea. I just… _knew_.

Bending my legs at the knees, I moved myself into a crouching position and slowly straightened them out so I was standing properly. I staggered as the wind blew past me, goosebumps erupting on my arms.

Now that I had a higher vantage point, I could see the ocean down below, white caps breaking on the rocks. To the side were bright lights of a city that seemed to never stop moving. I still had no idea where I was.

Hugging my arms to my chest in an effort to block out the cool breeze, I began walking away from the city, letting the beach stay on my left side. I don't know what it was, but the city didn't feel like the place to go, so I went the opposite way.

I walked for what seemed like hours, though from looking at the moon it had only been roughly thirty minutes, before I saw a large and rather fancy-looking house sitting on the edge of a cliff in the distance. Relief flooded through my body at the sight.

It took me about five minutes to reach the beginning of the driveway. I hesitated, still having no idea where I was or what I was doing. I couldn't remember anything prior to waking up, and I felt as if it should bother me, but it didn't.

I began walking up the driveway. At times my steps faltered, but I kept going. I had no idea what I would be facing, but I wasn't scared. More like curious… and wary.

I gazed openly at the doorway when I reached it. It was _huge_ and made completely out of glass, except for the support columns. I could see right into the house, not that there was much to see. White walls, plain flooring, nothing really popped out. At least, that is, until a light turned on.

Taking a step back, I cautiously eyed the man who walked right up to the door, opened it without touching it, and stood just outside, arms crossed over his chest. He had an unreadable expression on his face.

"Who are you?" He demanded. I had been too busy taking in his mussed up black hair and brown eyes to register what he had said.

"What?" I mumbled confusedly, before it finally clicked in. "My name… is Vaeta Callahan," I said softly, wincing slightly at the hoarseness of my voice.

The man glared at me for a few seconds before muttering something beneath his breath. I shifted uneasily beneath his gaze. He cocked his head to the side, eyes raking up and down my body, and though I could see his lips moving, I couldn't hear what he was saying.

After another few seconds he stepped to the side and gestured at me. I stared at him, wondering what he was doing. He sighed heavily, "You can go inside you know." I still didn't move. "I don't bite, I swear," he added quickly, as if sensing my hesitancy, though I could hear an amused undertone when he spoke.

I slowly stepped forward, never taking my eyes off the man until I was inside the house. It was even more beautiful inside, but I didn't get the chance to admire it for long before a male British voice called out from seemingly everywhere at once.

" _Hello Miss Callahan. It is a pleasure to meet you_." I whipped my head around, searching for a body to go along with the voice. There was no one, excluding the man and he definitely hadn't spoken with a British accent.

"Who is-" I began to ask but was interrupted immediately by said man.

"That's JARVIS. He's an AI system. Takes care of everything within the house," he said casually as if it was the most normal thing in the world. My brows furrowed.

"You have programmed a computerized artificial intelligence to run everything?" I questioned, instantly intrigued.

"Yes, he controls everything, from the air conditioning to locking the doors. He is very invaluable." The man seemed pleased with himself.

" _Sir, I would advise that you introduce yourself_ ," JARVIS said formally.

"And why would I need to do that? _Everyone_ knows me," the man exclaimed haughtily, turning to face me with a winning smile.

I gazed at him, quickly registering that he was waiting for me to respond. But with what? "Uh, I have no idea who you are…" my words trailed off as the smiled dropped from his face.

"Oh, well that's just great," he muttered to himself. "I'm Tony Stark," he said with a slight frown, his voice almost condescending, as if I should know who he was. But how could I, when I didn't even know myself?

"JARVIS, scan her again," he said impatiently.

My eyes immediately jumped to his face, body tensing and a flash of fear flowed through my body. What did he mean by scan?

" _Still no records of her existence, Sir_ ," the British AI responded almost instantaneously.

"Damn," Tony said quietly to himself. He looked to be deep in thought for a few moments and I took the time to take a few steps away from him, thoroughly confused with what was going on. "Where do you come from?" He suddenly asked me.

I shook my head. "I don't know," I whispered, straining my memory for anything. Nothing came to mind.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Tony questioned incredulously. I flinched, self-consciously raising an arm in front of me as if to protect myself.

" _Sir, may I suggest you take it easy on her. She has very low blood sugar levels and her body has very high stress levels. I recommend you give her the chance to sleep and eat before questioning her any further_ ," JARVIS called out, the tone of his voice seeming as if he was berating a young child.

"Of course," Tony responded and reached out to grab my arm. I tensed and took a step back. "It's okay, I won't hurt you, I promise," he said, pulling his hand back. I nodded slowly, forcing my muscles to relax. It was only now that I realized how fatigued I really was. "This way." The man spun on his heels and walked away, leaving me no choice but to follow him.

He led me to a plain room with a double bed and en suite attached. I gazed somewhat longingly at the bed. "You can sleep here for the night. My room is just down the hallway. JARVIS will attend to anything you may need." And with that he was gone.

I walked in and closed the door behind me, kicking off the shoes I was wearing and burrowing myself under the covers. I think I fell asleep almost immediately, but I'm not really sure.

* * *

I woke to bright sunlight streaming through the window right into my face. Groaning, I buried my face into the bed covers, not wanting to wake up.

" _Miss Callahan, it's time to get up. Breakfast will be ready soon_ ," JARVIS said in a suspiciously cheery tone.

Throwing the covers back I blearily opened my eyes, rubbing them with my fists and stumbled into the bathroom. Resting my hands on the counter, I stared into the mirror. Piercing grey eyes stared back at me and medium-length golden blonde hair hung down my back. I looked as bad as I felt: horrible. There were black shadows beneath my eyes, my skin was very pale and I looked as if I hadn't slept in days.

After washing up, I slipped on my shoes once more and hesitantly stepped out of the room. The smell of bacon and eggs was in the air, even though I couldn't remember where I knew it from. I followed the delicious scent to the kitchen where Tony Stark was sitting at the dining table, plate of food in front of him, a tall glass of what looked like vegetable juice and magazine in his hand which he promptly threw to the side when he saw me.

"Sleep well?" He asked me. I shrugged. "There's another plate of food on the counter for you," he said, taking a bite of his breakfast.

I grabbed the plate and a pair of utensils and sat down at the table. With no idea of what to say to spur the conversation, I took a bite. It was absolutely delicious.

"Enjoy the food?" Tony grinned at me. I nodded in response. "Pepper made it."

I frowned. "Who's Pepper?" I queried curiously.

"My assistant. She takes care of everything that JARVIS doesn't."

I decided that I needed to meet this 'Pepper'. We were quiet for the rest of the meal, and as soon as I finished my last bite Tony rested his chin on his fingertips and gazed unblinkingly at me.

"Where do you come from?" He repeated the same question as the night before, though now he seemed a bit calmer.

I fiddled with the table cloth. "I don't know." The man raised an eyebrow at me. "I… don't remember anything," I added, hoping he would understand.

"You remembered your name," was all he said in response. I bit my lower lip.

"That's the only thing I know prior to… waking up last night on a grassy hill near the city." Tony seemed to perk up at this.

"So you remember _nothing_ before then?" He questioned. I felt annoyance bubble up inside me. I had already told him this, yet he refused to accept it for what it was. Luckily JARVIS stepped in or I may have done or said something I shouldn't have.

" _If I may say something, Sir, Miss Callahan has no records of any kind, not even restricted records. It is as if she never existed, according to the system. I suggest you keep her inside and away from other people until we figure out where she comes from_."

Tony leaned back in his chair, hand on his chin as he thought about what the British AI said. "Good thinking JARVIS." I looked at him, thoroughly confused. Did he mean to keep me here… like a prisoner? As if sensing my mood the man glanced at me. "Don't worry, I'm not going to hold you hostage. You'll be able to leave the house, just not the grounds. At least until we know a bit more." I calmed down at that.

" _Might I also add we tell no one about her, Sir? We don't want the government involved_ ," JARVIS added.

"Well, Pepper already knows about her, but she's the most trustworthy person I know. You don't have to worry about her," Tony said the last part to me, and I simply nodded in response.

"Um, Mr. Stark?" I said quietly, "Where are we?"

" _I think she means the country, Sir_ ," JARVIS said.

"I know what she means JARVIS," Tony snapped at the AI, but when he responded to me his voice was a lot kinder. "Malibu, California." His brows furrowed at my expression in response to his answer. "In America?"

I glared at him, knowing what he meant the first time. I knew where it was, I just don't remember how I knew. It was like knowing how to use a shower, but not remembering ever using one before. Just trying to figure out how I knew made my head hurt, so I stopped. "It's in the northern hemisphere," I added somewhat sarcastically.

Tony clapped his hands together. "Oh, she remembers something! _Progress_."

Barely managing to hold back a snarky retort, I settled instead for asking another much-needed question. "What year is it?"

He sighed. "Of course you don't remember that." I stared at him. "It's 2008," he said, throwing his hands into the air.

2008\. I thought hard on that number. There didn't seem to be anything special or strange about it. It was simply a number. I held in a sigh of frustration. All I wanted was to be able to remember the simplest of things, such as knowing why the hell I was here and not in… Canada or someplace like that.

" _Sir_?"

"What is it now JARVIS?" Tony sighed noisily.

" _You're going to be late again for the meeting scheduled today, which happens to be starting in ten minutes_."

"Shit," he muttered under his breath, leaping up from the chair. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" He grumbled.

" _I assumed this was more important, Sir_."

"Well just don't assume next time." He hurried off to his room, presumably to get changed into a more appropriate outfit than the simple white tee and sweatpants he was currently wearing.

"Meeting?" I queried JARVIS curiously.

" _Stark Industries is a weapon manufacturing company, Miss Callahan_ ," he responded in a tone that suggested he wasn't going to say anything more on the matter.

"Oh," was all I had to say about it. Of course the first person I meet makes weapons of mass destruction. Just my luck.

It wasn't long before Tony emerged from his room wearing a rather fancy suit and a pair of dark shades. He tipped his head to me as he passed on his way to the front door.

"You're just going to leave me here on my own?" I said indignantly, crossing my arms for further effect. I didn't want to be on my own; there were so many things I still wanted to know about.

"I'm not going to babysit you the whole day. And you have JARVIS to keep you company. If you need anything just ask him," he said in a rushed tone as he opened the door. "Oh, and Pepper will be arriving in an hour or so to meet you," he quickly added before closing the door behind him.

I watched as he hopped into his car and drove away, my mind swiftly wandering as a wave of tiredness crashed throughout my body. I was confused. I had just slept, so why was I still tired?

" _Miss Callahan, I suggest you return to your bed as your body levels are all over the place. Would you wish me to contact Pepper and ask her if you want a doctor to look over you_?" JARVIS said, and quite politely at that.

Shaking my head, I dragged myself from the seat at the dining table and trudged to my room. "No, I'll be fine. Thanks for asking, though, JARVIS."

" _It's my duty, Miss Callahan_ ," he responded formally. I made a grumbled noise in response as I, once again, buried myself beneath the covers of the bed. I suppose I fell asleep with my shoes on. Oh well.

* * *

When I awoke again, the curtains were still closed. I silently thanked JARVIS for not rudely waking me up like before. I realized that I happened to not like getting up out of bed. Clearly I was not a morning person.

Rolling over onto my back, I stared up at the ceiling, thoughts churning around in my mind. Why was I here, what was I doing, who was I? I was still unable to answer any of these questions. It frustrated me, not knowing the answers. Whatever had happened to make me lose my memories, or whoever had done it, would feel the full force of my wrath.

"Oh good, you're awake," a calm voice called out to me. I startled, jumping up from the bed and turning to face a kind-looking woman with blonde hair standing in the doorway. "I was starting to worry you wouldn't wake," she continued in the same tone.

I shrugged, mainly to relieve the tension in my limbs. "I guess I'm just a really heavy sleeper," I said nonchalantly. "You must be Pepper?"

"My real name is Virginia, but yes, you may call me Pepper," she answered with a smile. I returned one in response.

Pepper ushered me back into the kitchen with the promise of making me a warm beverage. How could I refuse?

"So," she began as she placed the mug of coffee in front of me. "JARVIS has informed me of your situation." I merely shrugged in response, cupping my hands around the mug, letting the warmth flow into my fingers. There wasn't much to say on the subject.

"I understand that it may be difficult, not knowing where you come from or why you woke up where you did, but I'll always be here if you need me," Pepper said in a somewhat motherly tone. I took a sip of coffee, giving myself a couple of seconds to think about what I wanted to reply with.

"Thanks Pepper. It's nice knowing that I'm not completely alone. I just wish I knew _something_ , anything at all apart from my name." I bit my lower lip. "I don't even know my own age."

The blonde woman looked me over, eyes narrowing slightly in concentration. "I'd say you're in your late twenties, maybe… twenty eight, twenty nine?"

"I can deal with that," I said with a small smile, taking another sip of coffee.

We chatted for a while after that, and I learned that she lived on her own in an apartment in the city, even though she was Tony's assistant and could very well live in his house. When I asked her why she didn't she said it wasn't very appropriate. I didn't comment in response. She had graduated with a degree in business administration before working in the finance department of Stark Industries, but she was quickly promoted.

She seemed really nice and I felt as if I had made a new friend, though I was hesitant to say anything along the lines for fear of rejection.

Just as the sun began to dip down out of sight, JARVIS called out a hospitable greeting. " _Welcome home Mr. Stark_."

He looked tired and irritable… and maybe just a little bit drunk. I opened my mouth to say something, but decided against it when he walked past Pepper and I without saying a word. I heard her sigh softly under her breath.

"Does this usually happen?" I asked curiously. She nodded in response, lips thinning in distaste.

"Unfortunately," she said dryly. I wanted to prod further but not wanting to cross any lines or boundaries, I kept my mouth closed. I could ask later.

I turned around just as he exited his room, now wearing casual clothes, and stomped his way down some stairs I hadn't noticed before. "Where is he going?" I turned to Pepper for an answer.

"Down to his workshop. I highly advise you stay out of his way. He dislikes people bothering him on the best of days." This certainly was far from the best of days.

Pepper stayed for a while longer, showing me to an unused library filled with many books, and as she packed her things to leave, told me there was some food in the fridge if I was hungry. I smiled and waved goodbye to her, waiting until I could no longer see her car before silently making my way down the stairs to Tony's workshop. I just had to know what was down there.

I could see him bent over next to very fancy, old fashioned car that was decorated with flames on the sides. He seemed to be working furiously, as if letting off steam, and I watched him until he suddenly yelled out, shaking his hand in the air as if he had hit it with a hammer or something. I quickly darted back up the stairs just as he began to turn around, hoping that he hadn't seen me spying on him.

After grabbing a couple of books from the library, I lay down in my bed and opened one of them. I felt wide awake due to my day nap, and as it was currently 10 pm, I knew it was going to be a long night.

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 **Review and favourite if you want me to post more (on a weekly schedule that I will try my best to stick to) :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with the MCU, that right belongs to Stan Lee and Marvel Studios. I only own my character and the plot that I made up.**

* * *

I was still awake by just after six in the morning with no hint of tiredness. I threw down the book I was currently reading and jumped up from the bed. If I wasn't going to sleep then I may as well explore the house.

Passing by the kitchen I walked down a short hallway and stopped in the living room, eyeing the computer access panel on the wall which lead to another part of the house. Curious to know what it held, I reached out my hand and tapped the panel.

" _You are not authorized to access this area, Miss Callahan_."

I jumped when JARVIS' voice called out immediately as the panel momentarily flashed red, pulling my hand back into my chest

I glared at the panel before turning around and throwing up my arms. "Thanks for the warning JARVIS." My tone was sarcastic.

" _It is my pleasure_ ," the British AI responded.

Grumbling beneath my breath I sauntered back towards the kitchen, not in the mood to explore the rest of the house, especially if my access was restricted. There was no point, really.

I sat at the island in the center of the kitchen and plopped a grape in my mouth, chewing on it thoughtfully. At first I presumed JARVIS was just an AI hooked up to the electrical wiring of the mansion, but the panel suggested he was built into the place and had access through other means. I ran a couple of possibilities through my mind, but discarded them almost at once. None of them were practical.

"Say JARVIS?" I began. "Where are you kept?" I knew he must have a mainframe somewhere, most likely below the mansion where there was limited access from the outside world.

" _I am afraid I'm not at liberty to share that information with you, Miss Callahan_ ," he responded in a no-nonsense tone.

"Dammit," I muttered under my breath, plopping another grape into my mouth. Guess I would just have to find out for myself.

Standing up I made my way back to the stairs that lead down to Tony's workshop. If there was a place for JARVIS' mainframe, surely it was down there.

I crept as silently as I could down the marble-like surface of the stairs, flinching when I heard JARVIS speak yet again.

" _I wouldn't advise going down there. Mr. Stark doesn't like to be disturbed_ ," he warned me. I chose to ignore said warning.

My eyes scanned the workshop as I stood in front of the glass door which, sadly, it needed a passcode to open. I could see the car Tony had been working on the previous night lined up next to many other old and fancy cars. There was a large empty space in the middle of the room with a slightly raised up circular center. Off to the side was a raised station where there were computerized holograms and a sleeping Tony splayed out in the chair.

I glanced back at the panel used to unlock the door. It was a hologram stuck to the side of the glass which made it just that much harder to crack, but somehow I knew there was a way to figure it out, though I couldn't remember from where. Hey, maybe I had been a genius before my memory got wiped.

But first, I figured I'd ask JARVIS the code in case he was willing to cough it up. "JARVIS, what's the passcode?"

" _I am unable to share that information with you, Miss Callahan. If Tony wishes to grant you access he would tell you himself_." I could swear I heard an antagonizing tone to his voice.

Biting my lower lip, I studied the panel. Even though it was a hologram, as it was placed on glass, there would still be faint traces of skin deposits on the numbers used. From the looks of it there seemed to be four numbers, and the first was clearly 7, but it was nearly impossible to guess the other three.

"Please JARVIS?" I pled, even though I knew it was hopeless. If he had been programmed to keep people out then there was no way of getting around it. Unless I could access his mainframe, but that required getting access to it which was most likely inside the workshop. Figures.

He didn't respond, and so I turned my focus back to the task at hand.

I was unsure if inserting the wrong code would cause the place to be put under lockdown. Considering what I knew about Tony it likely would happen.

Exhaling deeply, I moved closer to the panel, eyes scanning over each number numerically. Somehow I knew all humans had a tendency to put in numbers a certain way, even though they may not realize it. Usually it involved going from a high number to a low number, to an even lower number then back up again. Everyone did it, subconsciously or not.

"For science," I muttered sarcastically as I punched in the number 7, then 5, 1 and finally (after taking in a deep breath) 3.

The glass door opened immediately and I released the breath in a relieved sigh. I quickly entered the workshop before the door could close on me. Glancing back at the now locked door, I raised an eyebrow. I guess I really was a genius. Maybe a secret agent too.

Now that I was inside the workshop, I quietly made my way to where Tony was sleeping as that was where the computers were. The rest of the workshop was empty except for the cars, so that was the only place where I could do some digging.

I slowly grabbed the back of the chair and carefully, inch by inch, moved the chair away from the desk, freezing every now and then when Tony made a noise or moved. When he was finally out of the way I stood in front of the three holographic screens and tapped the middle one. The moment my finger touched it all three of them sprang to life, the screensaver disappearing.

My eyes widened when I saw what Tony had been doing before he fell asleep. Diagrams and information on missiles, and not just any missiles, but ones created by Stark Industries were displayed. The information was like a manual, showing what steps were needed to create said missile, where it was kept, what security level was needed to access it, the codes to launch the missiles and where they would be tested.

I knew Stark Industries manufactured weapons, but I didn't know they created weapons that were able to blow up entire cities if used properly. I glanced back at Tony, brows furrowing. From the very brief time I had known him he didn't seem to be a person interested in this kind of stuff, but I guess that just proves how naïve I really am.

When he began to stir I hurriedly turned back to the screens and put the screensaver back on, hoping he wouldn't notice I had been snooping around and scurried over to the line-up of cars. I knew I wouldn't be able to reach the door in time before he woke up so I made myself busy with examining them. To be fair, they _were_ cool-looking.

"What are you doing in here?" Tony demanded. I glanced over my shoulder to see him standing up from the chair and walking purposefully towards me. He didn't seem very happy.

I swallowed nervously. "Uhm… I got bored?" I said hesitantly.

He crossed his arms over his chest, eyes narrowing, though the effect was dampened by his disheveled appearance. "So you decided to waltz in here and look around?" I nodded slowly. "How did you get in?" He questioned authoritatively.

I fiddled with my shirt. "Well, you see… the code itself wasn't very difficult to figure out. You really should change it to something less obvious because…" my words trailed off as I realized I should probably stop talking and digging myself into a deeper hole. I also didn't want to piss him off seeing as he was the CEO of a multibillion dollar company.

"JARVIS, I thought I told you no one was allowed in here," he said angrily.

" _She entered the correct code so I saw no reason to restrict her access_ ," the British AI responded simply.

Tony exhaled heavily, muttering under his breath. I stayed quiet, deciding that was my best option right now to not piss him off… any further.

"Did you touch anything?" He finally asked, scrutinizing me with a careful eye. I thought back to the missile plans I had just seen… yea, I wasn't going to mention that.

"I almost fiddled with your computers but the cars caught my attention," I said nonchalantly, hoping JARVIS wouldn't rat me out. So far his programming seemed to only include him revealing information if he was directly asked, and though it would work out for me at the moment, I knew it wasn't a good thing to have in the long run.

He stared at me for a full ten seconds before shrugging. I breathed another sigh of relief. Apparently I had a good poker face too.

"So you like cars?" He asked, staring at the hotrod red car he had been working on the previous night.

"I suppose so." I guess I did, though I wasn't sure. Not having memories sucked like a bitch, so for all I knew I loved them.

"What were you working on?" I angled my head towards the car. For a man who owned such a company I hadn't expected him to get his hands dirty.

"Oh, you know old cars, their parts are always needing replacements and fixing up," he said gently, running a hand over the bonnet.

We were silent for a few moments, Tony studying the car and me studying Tony. "So what's up with JARVIS?" I suddenly asked.

He glanced back at me. "What do you mean?"

"Where do you keep him? His mainframe, or whatever?"

Tony splayed out his arms. "He's all around us; built into the house."

I raised an eyebrow. "You mean his systems can be accessed from _anywhere_? Including the computer access panel in the living room?"

"If you know how, then essentially, yes. Even if you're far away from this place, if you have a device that he's connected to you can." Huh, interesting. I suppose it made it easier on the whole, being able to access him anytime, anyplace, anywhere.

"Why do you want to know?" Tony queried, a suspicious tone in his voice.

I shot him a look. "What? I can't be curious about things?" He held up his hands in mock surrender.

"Alright, alright… if you say so." I could see him grinning from the corner of my eye as I turned to leave the workshop.

I rolled my eyes, even though he couldn't see. This man was giving me whiplash. One second he was demanding answers from me, and the next he seemed to be joking around.

"Where are you going?" He called out to me as I opened the glass door (at least from the inside it didn't require the passcode).

"To get something to drink!" I yelled back as I practically jogged up the stairs. He was making my head spin.

Grabbing a tall glass from the cupboard, I filled it nearly to the brim with cold water from the tap and took a large gulp. Much better.

I turned around, leaning against the sink as I took another sip, raising my eyebrow once more at the expression on Tony's face from where he stood behind the island counters. "What? I'm _thirsty_ ," I snarked, knowing very well he thought I had meant alcohol.

By now it was very nearly seven in the morning and the sun was fully risen above the ocean line. I quickly finished the rest of my glass before smiling widely at Tony. "Well, I'd better be off. I've got some more books to read."

I strolled past him, a smirk on my face, and made my way to my bedroom. It was really just an excuse to get away from him as my head was really starting to spin, and so was the walls and floor around me.

"What just happened?" Tony asked incredulously.

" _I'm afraid I have no idea, Sir_ ," JARVIS responded just as I closed the door behind me.

Taking off my sneakers and stripping down to my undergarments, I wrapped myself in the blankets and squeezed my eyes shut, willing the dizziness to go away. I suppose I fell asleep eventually.

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 **I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I did writing it! Review, favourite and follow if you'd like to see more :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with the MCU, that right belongs to Stan Lee and Marvel Studios. I only own my character and the plot that I made up.**

* * *

It was just past three in the afternoon when I woke once more. I rolled over onto my stomach, wishing I could go back to sleep, but I knew that was never going to happen. After a couple of minutes I opened my eyes and sat up, rubbing them with my fists and yawning widely. The good thing was that everything was no longer spinning like an earthquake was happening.

Grimacing, I made my way to the shower, letting the hot water relax my muscles. I grabbed the shampoo and washed my hair, feeling more and more satisfied the cleaner I became. After scrubbing my body until the skin became slightly red from the friction and heat, I finally turned the showerhead off and stepped onto the mat.

The cool air raised goosebumps all over my body, and I quickly toweled myself dry. It was only when I had dried my hair and tied the towel around me that I realized I had no fresh clothes to put on. I groaned and leaned my forehead against the bathroom door. There was no way I was walking outside where Tony could see me dressed in only a towel.

"JARVIS?" I called out to the open air.

" _Yes, Miss Callahan?_?" He responded immediately.

"Is there any spare clothes around here that I can borrow?" I questioned hopefully.

" _There is a guest room upstairs you may use_."

"Thanks," I mumbled, closing my eyes and lightly banging my forehead against the door multiple times as if it would rid me of all my problems. Getting upstairs meant crossing the whole of the first floor to reach the staircase where Tony would be able to easily see me if he wasn't downstairs tinkering on his cars. Great, just my luck.

Inhaling a deep breath, I straightened myself out. "It's not that big of a deal. Nothing he's probably seen before." Especially considering what Pepper had implied when we had our chat.

I exited the bathroom and peeked around the bedroom door which lead into the short hallway. So far so good; Tony wasn't in sight. I wasn't in the clear yet, however. He could appear at any moment.

Gently closing the door behind me, I scurried down the hallway, and just as I reached the stairs that lead up to the guest bedroom I heard a voice behind me. A male one. And of course it was the one and only Tony Stark.

"Where do you think you're going?" He called out. I gritted my teeth together and slowly turned around to face him, a forced smile on my face. I clutched tightly at the knotted part of towel to make sure it wouldn't come undone.

"Getting a fresh pair of clothes from the guest bedroom? JARVIS said it was okay to do so." I could see him widely grinning at me as he leaned against the wall, his eyes definitely not on my face. "So unless you want to talk politics I'm going to go get changed," and without a further word or glance behind me, I dashed up the stairs, my heart racing a million times a minute.

Muttering obscenities under my breath, I opened the closet door and inspected the racks of clothes for something suitable to wear. It was only after I had been searching for at least five minutes that I realized there was nothing _decent_ to wear. "Of course there's only clothes that models would wear in here… and apparently _lingerie_ too."

Picking out the least revealing clothes I could find, them being a pair of very short denim jeans (only reaching halfway down my thighs) and a plain white blouse that was cropped down to my belly button, I threw the towel over my shoulder and slowly began the descent back downstairs. First chance I got, I was going to go shopping with Pepper for clothes that were more suitable to wear outside _and_ inside the house.

"You look nice," was the first thing Tony said when he saw me as I passed him in the hallway, not daring to look him in the face. "Though I must say… I _did_ prefer the towel." I could just hear the smirk on his face.

"In your dreams," I mumbled to myself, receiving a chuckle in response.

I hung the towel up in the bathroom before inspecting myself in the mirror. Okay, I must admit, it did look good on me, but it was just a little bit too revealing for my like. There was no way I'd leave the house wearing this.

I passed Tony on my way to the kitchen who was sitting on a chair, feet propped up on the dining table, but didn't meet his eyes for fear of burning up like a fireball. Why was I nervous? Oh yea, right, he was a playboy and I was wearing very revealing clothes. How could I _possibly_ forget that?

Sitting down at the island, I popped another grape into my mouth. There always seemed to be a fresh supply, not that I minded. The grapes were delicious. But it made me wonder who restocked them every day. I immediately thought of Pepper. She _was_ Tony's assistant after all, but I just couldn't see her doing that.

"I'm going out," Tony suddenly called out, getting up from the chair and straightening out his suit.

"Good for you," I replied somewhat sarcastically in response.

"And you're coming with me," he added. I spun around, mouth opening in surprise.

"What? No I'm not!" I said indignantly.

"Yes you are," he countered suavely. "We're going sightseeing." I blubbered like a fish, trying to think of reason to refuse, but none of them coming out in understandable words.

I allowed myself to be practically dragged towards the door until something popped into my mind. "Didn't JARVIS say to keep me inside and away from other people?"

Tony shrugged. "You'll be with me. How much safer can it get?"

He pulled me out the front door (at least he wasn't rough) and pressed a button on a set of keys before waiting patiently, picking at a microscopic piece of lint on his suit. After a few seconds a fancy white car appeared from seemingly nowhere, one of the cars he kept down inside his workshop. It said 'Stark 4' on the license plates.

Tony walked around the side of the car and got into the driver's seat. I stood where I was and crossed my arms over my chest. He reached over the passenger seat and opened the door, sighing heavily. "Get in."

I shook my head. "No, I'm staying right here." Nothing could change my mind.

"Don't you trust me?" He said cockily.

"Not really," I responded with narrowed eyes. He pretended to look hurt, but when he realized it wasn't going to work he changed his tactics.

"I'll buy you anything you want." This got my attention. I glared at him suspiciously.

" _Anything_ I want?" I didn't believe him.

"I don't care how expensive it is. Actually, the more it costs the more likely I'll be to buy it," he said, grinning at me.

Slowly I got into the car and closed the door. "I'll take a raincheck on that offer," I said as I buckled myself up.

"Alright then, let's go." He gunned the car and it shot forward like a bullet from a gun. I clutched the edge of my seat for dear life.

Once we reached the highway Tony's driving calmed down. So did I. "So uhm, where are we actually going?"

"Oh, you know, here and there. Running a couple of errands." Tony shrugged casually. I groaned silently, knowing that I had probably just gotten myself into deep trouble. What would Pepper say?

He parked the car on the curb next to a very large building and turned to face me, a pair of shades in his outstretched hand. "Here, wear these." I took them and put them on. They were a good fit, I had to admit. "Now, don't say anything, not even when you're spoken to. I'll handle everything." Handle _what_?

"Tony what are we doing here?" I hissed, grabbing his shoulder as he prepared to leave the car. He turned to face me, a big grin on his face.

"Just need to chat to an old friend about a couple of things." He exited the car and donned a pair of his own shades. I followed suit.

Picking at the hem of my shorts, I wished they went down just a little shorter. Actually, I wished they went all the way down to my ankles and that the shirt covered what it was supposed to, but hey, they had Tony written all over them. Of course they didn't.

Just before we walked through the front doors Tony told me to walk slightly behind him, which made me wonder what was on the other side. The moment they opened I wished I hadn't imagined. It was much, much worse than anything I could possibly think of.

Cameras flashed and dozens of reporters yelled out Tony's name, shoving microphones and phones in his face. I made sure to walk directly behind him, so close that if I reached out an inch I could grab his hand with mine. I didn't, of course, but I _could_. Not that I would anyways.

"Tony Stark!" A brunette called out eagerly as she pushed her way to the front of the crowd, causing Tony and I to stop in our tracks. "We have heard that Stark Industries is developing something new that could change everything we know. What do you think it will hold for the future of America and its people?"

Tony smiled a winning smile at the woman as he answered her question very vaguely; not really answering it at all. I, however, knew exactly what she was talking about. My memory went back to the missile plans I had seen in his workshop.

It seemed only then, when the initial rush of seeing him abated, that everyone noticed I was there; someone who they didn't recognize and who was in the company of Tony Stark himself. I suddenly wished I was back in his mansion where I could bury myself beneath the bedsheets once more.

They shouted questions at us, such as 'who was I', 'what was my name', 'why was I in the company of Tony Stark' and, the one which was asked the most frequently, 'what was our relationship with each other'. Tony deflected each and every question with the ease only a man who had been doing it for years could do, and we slowly made our way through the mob of people to the flight of stairs where a pair of huge and scary-looking men were keeping guard.

One of them held up his hand and stood in front of me, but Tony pushed him to the side. "She's with me," he said, staring evenly at the butch man. After a few tension-filled moments the man stepped to the side and allowed us to pass through.

I could still hear the echoes of the shouted questions in my mind as we made our way to an office on the second floor. I still had no idea where we were or who we were meeting, but before I could ask the door opened and a tall, bald man wearing an expensive suit walked out, shaking Tony's hand and clapping him on the shoulder. "Good to see you Tony," he said jubilantly, before his gaze fell on me. "Oh, and who's this?"

I glanced at Tony for reassurance. "She's a friend of Pepper's. Staying with me for a while," he lied smoothly as if it were a truth.

"Obadiah Stane, Stark Industries Executive." He held out his hand for me to shake. My eyes found Tony's as I slowly reached out with my own hand, and when I saw him nod slightly, I slowly revealed my own name.

"Vaeta Callahan, currently no position in Stark Industries." Okay yea, maybe I shouldn't have added in that last part, but it was Tony's fault for bringing me out here in the first place. Anything that happened was on his head.

Obadiah laughed jauntily and gestured for us to go inside, only Tony stopped me, glancing sideways at the tall, balding man. "You don't mind waiting out here for a few minutes?" I shook my head and he entered the room without another word. I already knew they would be talking about the missiles, among other things, but I didn't want him to know that I knew.

I leaned against the wall for what seemed like an age before the door finally opened and Tony walked out, a triumphant look on his face. Obadiah bade us farewell and we made our way back downstairs to where the mob was still waiting for us. I very nearly clung onto Tony's arm as we were swarmed once more, but the thought of it making them even worse was the one thing that halted me from doing so.

Once we were back in his car I took the shades off, buckled myself in and glared defiantly at the windscreen, not even sparing him a glance. I was furious at him.

"What was that?" I finally hissed when he started the car up and drove away from the building.

"What was what?" I could just hear that stupid smirk in his voice again, but I didn't look away from the windscreen.

" _That_. With the whole reporter mob and their stupid questions. What was the point?" I seethed, clenching my hands together to stop myself from punching the nearest thing to me, which happened to be Tony.

"Oh that? That's normal. They're always camped out everywhere." He waved it off like it was nothing.

I stayed silent for a few minutes. "I thought you said for me to lay low. That certainly _was not_ laying low. Now everyone in America will know about me by tomorrow morning."

I heard him chuckle in the seat next to me. "That's precisely why I gave you the shades and did all the talking."

"Oh, like that's going to help," I scoffed. Honestly, I thought he knew better that that. Pepper was going to be furious when she caught wind of this.

"Where are we going?" I finally asked, turning my head to face him for the first time since entering the car. He had a cheeky grin on his face.

"There's this nice restaurant nearby. I thought it would be a good place to eat," he replied.

"What, you going to seduce me like the playboy you are?" I snarked at him, glaring poisoned daggers straight into what was left of his soul.

Tony raised a single eyebrow at me, devilish smirk appearing on his face. "Would you like me to?"

I sighed heavily, returning my eyes to the windscreen. "Just drive." It was hopeless trying to talk to him like a normal human being.

He shrugged and revved the car. "If you say so."

* * *

 **I am so sorry this was posted a couple of days late! I went to Comic Con and didn't have the time to get onto my laptop to upload it. But I hope you enjoyed reading it anyways! I promise to post the next chapter on time next week :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with the MCU, that right belongs to Stan Lee and Marvel Studios. I only own my character and the plot that I made up.**

* * *

The restaurant Tony took me to actually had been very nice, not that I'd told him. I kept that information for myself, otherwise he'd probably end up taking me to some other restaurant where someone could figure out my identity, even though I barely knew it myself. He, of course, paid for everything, and we had a nice meal, just chatting about little things here and there. No one dared to bother us.

When we left he tried to bribe me into going to the casino on the other side of town, but I vehemently refused. I wasn't stupid. Plus, from what Pepper told me he tended to go a bit overboard.

Eventually we arrived back at his mansion, and in one piece too. Those reporters were like sharks.

I sat back in the seat as Tony parked the car in the workshop, exhaling deeply. "Maybe give me a little warning next time before you drag me out of the house into the public?"

"What for?" He said, genuinely confused.

"So I can put on something _decent_ ," I responded, gesturing to the outfit I was currently wearing.

Tony stared quizzically at me. "Those clothes are fine. They're great, _perfect_ for an outing into the city."

I rolled my eyes at him, exiting the car. "For you, maybe." And with that I traipsed through the workshop and up the stairs, leaving Tony sitting in his car.

A couple of hours later Tony found me reading on the couch in the living room.

"What are you doing?" He asked dubiously. I glanced away from the book, one eyebrow raised.

"What, you've never seen a book before?" I snarked.

Tony held up his hands mockingly, taking a step backwards as he said, "Woah there tiger, just curious." I returned back to my book, even though I was completely bored with it.

I wasn't sure exactly when he left, but the next time I looked away from the printed words he was gone.

By the time I flopped back into my bed, exhaustion eating away at my body and mind, I could hear birds beginning to chirp outside.

* * *

The next couple of weeks passed by quite uneventfully. I learned how to work the television very quickly and it became the most used object when I was bored; Pepper stopped by every now and then and we'd chat about trivial things; Tony left often to go into the city and seven times out of ten came back with his latest fling… I quickly learned to play music very loudly in my room when that happened and wait it out.

"You're watching that _again_!" Tony exclaimed as he passed by the living room one afternoon. I paused the movie, sitting up on the couch and glaring at him. Pepper had recently introduced me to Disney movies and I went on a craze to watch them all. Now I was re-watching my favourites.

"I don't recall you ever caring," I mumbled, lying back down.

"This is what, the second time?"

"Your point is?"

He waved his arms in the air and strolled away, muttering something unintelligible under his breath. I pressed play on the remote.

Later in the day when the sun was nearing its final hour in the sky I heard Tony in the kitchen. He was never usually in the kitchen, so I turned off the television and strolled curiously down the hallway. I found him eating a slice of toast.

Tony glanced absently in my direction with a simple "Hey."

"Hey," I repeated back. It was unusual to see him sitting calmly by the island with a single slice of toast. He either had a large meal or nothing at all, at least from what I saw when he wasn't down in the workshop. Since the day Tony took me out to the city I hadn't gone back down there.

"What around you doing?" I asked curiously.

Tony stared at me, "What, a man can't eat something in his own kitchen now? Is it a crime now?" He said sarcastically. I opened my mouth to respond just as sarcastically, but before I could say anything JARVIS interrupted.

" _Sir, Obadiah Stane is at the front door_."

"Dammit," Tony cursed as he wiped the crumbs from his shirt and made his way to the door. I watched curiously from the kitchen. So far, all I knew about the man was that he had taken control over Stark Industries long ago before Tony took over and that he handled all of the paperwork and dealings.

I couldn't hear what the two men were saying, so I reached over the island, plucked a few grapes from the bowl, and sat down in one of the dining chairs.

"This'll be very quick Tony. I'd just like to run a few things by you before we procee-" Obadiah cut off his words when he spotted me, his expression swiftly becoming amused. "Oh hello, you're still living here?"

I nodded in response, slowly chewing on a grape so I didn't have to respond. Tony had told me over and over again to say as little as possible when interacting with other people.

"Uh yea," Tony said slowly, and I could just see the gears turning in his head. "She's decided to stay with me for a bit longer than she first thought." He quickly sauntered over to me and I could just tell from the look in his eyes that he wanted some privacy.

I stood up from the chair but before I could move any further he had embraced me in a sort of side hug. "If you could just give us a few minutes, Honey, that'd be great." _Honey_? What the hell was he talking about? "Play along," he whispered to me through his teeth." _Oh_.

"Sure sweetie, take as long as you need," I said in a cheerful tone, but my eyes conveyed a very different emotion. I went to escape from his embrace but he held on even tighter.

"Kiss me," he whispered again, causing me to give him a very poisoned look. "Please." I had never even heard that word coming out of his mouth, and it shocked me so much that I didn't have time to react before he pulled me closer to him and gently placed his lips on mine. His mouth was soft as he kissed me; a lot different than I imagined a kiss would be like. All too soon it ended.

"You're dead the moment he leaves," I muttered against his lips before breaking free of his embrace and walking as quickly as possible to my room without looking suspicious. I didn't look back at him.

I face planted into my bed the moment I entered the room, groaning into the fabric. Tony was such an _asshole_ for springing that on me without any warning… but I couldn't bring myself to hate him for it. I had always dreamed what a kiss would be like, and that had been much better than what I thought it would be. But this was Tony I was talking about. The man I was currently living with. I couldn't be having these thoughts about him.

I groaned again, beating my head against the soft fabric, wishing I could turn back time and slip into my room before Obadiah appeared. Now I was really confused about _everything_ I was feeling. Maybe the shock of the kiss would wear off soon… I sure hoped so.

It took a lot longer than a few minutes, more like half an hour, but eventually Obadiah left and I forced myself up from the bed. The shock had worn off… and I still felt that feeling down in the pit of my stomach, and because I had no idea what it was the only emotion that made sense to me right now was anger.

Tony was going to get it now.

I stormed out of my room and made my way to him, anger bubbling inside my veins.

"What. The. _Hell_. Was. That!" I practically screeched at him. He seemed taken aback and held his hands out in front of him, no mocking whatsoever in his body language.

"I know how this may seem Vaeta-" he began, but I quickly interrupted him.

"You had _no right_ to do that," I seethed, clenching and unclenching my fists in an attempt to not strangle him then and there.

"Okay, you're right, that was wrong of-" I interrupted him again as my hands found purchase on a blue and white vase and threw it at his head. Tony ducked and it smashed against the far wall. "If you'd just _listen_ to me I'll explain everything!" He yelled out as I reached for something else to throw at him.

I slowly crossed my arms over my chest, glaring daggers at him, but I let him speak. It was the least I could do.

Tony sighed and straightened himself out. "Obie, he's smart, really smart. He can figure almost anything out, and with the predicament you're in I didn't want him to think about you so I made you seem unimportant by giving off the impression you were just another fling." He looked at me with as much innocence as I bet he could muster up, and I forced myself to think rationally.

Now that I wasn't letting the anger get to my head I realized what he was saying was smart, even though he had gone about it completely wrong. It would be disastrous if a man like Obadiah was to start searching up on me.

"You're still an asshole," I finally said, relinquishing any anger I still had. Tony visibly let out a sigh of relief that I wasn't going to attack him again.

"I would say I'm sorry for the kiss," Tony began with a cheeky grin, "but I'm really not."

I threw another vase at him.

* * *

More weeks passed by, and I made myself busy with reading more books and going out with Pepper, but I had vowed to never leave the house with Tony ever again. So far it seemed to work. Actually, I had vowed to interact with him as little as possible, as every time I was near him I became somewhat flustered if there was no distraction. I was too afraid to tell Pepper about it, so I just avoided him as much as possible, but with him being the sort of man he was, sometimes that was just impossible.

" _Mr. Stark would like you to join him in the workshop, Miss Callahan_ ," JARVIS called out suddenly, disturbing me from my stupor as I absently looked out the window at the ocean below.

"Alright, tell him I'll be down there shortly," I mumbled, groaning inwards. I had thought he didn't like anyone disturbing him while he was working, but apparently this wasn't the case.

I made my way down the stairs, punched in the code and sauntered over to Tony had stood up from his kneeling position next to one of his cars, wiping his hands on a rag. "Yes, your highness?" I snarked at him, barely resisting the urge to bow down at his feet. He brought out the worst in me.

"I need your help," he said simply, rolling his eyes at me.

"Help?" I repeated dubiously. "The famous Tony Stark wants my _help_?"

"Haha, very funny. I want you to take a drive with me," he said, discarding the dirty rag on a nearby table.

I took a step back, shaking my head vigorously, "Nu-uh! I'm not having a repeat of last time."

"We're not going anywhere, I promise, just taking it out for a spin. I've made some adjustments and I wanna see how she goes," Tony replied, a hopeful grin on his face.

"Why must you take me with? Surely you'd rather drive around on your own?"

"Pepper's not here to join me," he said in a fake sad tone… he seemed to know that was a rather weak spot in my hard shell against doing things I didn't want to.

"Ugh, fine, but if we go anywhere near the city I promise you I'll shoot you with a BB gun where it'll _really_ hurt," I grumbled as I entered the passenger side of the car.

Within minutes we were out of the workshop and on the highway, definitely driving over the speed limit. I thought about opening the window and sticking my head out, but decided Tony would never let it go if I did, so I had to deal with only having it partially open.

"Exactly _how old_ is this car?" I questioned when he accelerated the car even more and it hesitating, somewhat lacking power and 'stumbling' before regaining power and speeding forwards down the highway.

"Well that wasn't supposed to happen," Tony muttered under his breath before glancing sideways at me. "Possibly older than you."

I scoffed, "You don't even know my age."

"Well you don't look a day older than twenty five," he responded with a grin. I rolled my eyes at him, but I took the compliment to heart anyways. It wasn't often he threw one my way, even if he didn't mean it that way.

"Thanks," I said sarcastically.

Eventually Tony turned the car around (and illegally at that, I'm pretty sure you're not allowed to make a U-turn on a highway) and began the drive back to his house. The car ran very well, except for when he accelerated, then it seemed to falter for a second or two before going through with the speed change.

By the time we made it back to the workshop I had a huge grin on my face. Driving very fast down the highway with the window rolled down could do that to a person.

Instead of immediately going back up the stairs into the main part of the house, I stayed in the workshop and watched as Tony got to work on the car, fixing up things here and there, muttering things under his breath while he worked.

He popped open the hood and leaned over the engine, biting on his lower lip as he examined it. I sat back on the table, fiddling with one of the rags as I observed him. "What you looking for?" I asked curiously.

"The spark plugs are faulty," he responded absentmindedly, as if he had forgotten I was there. To be honest, he probably had. That seemed like him.

"Yup!" he said triumphantly a couple of minutes later, unscrewing and pulling out the spark plugs, throwing them unceremoniously on the table next to me. "JARVIS, where are the spare spark plugs?"

" _I'm afraid there are none left in stock, Sir_ ," the British AI responded immediately.

Tony straightened up from the hood, "What do you mean _none left_?" He said incredulously.

I snorted at his reaction, unable to hold it in. He turned to face me, eyes narrowed, and I held my hands up in surrender, a grin on my face. "It seems the mighty Mr. Stark doesn't have everything he wants."

"Funny," he snarked at me. "JARVIS, order some more. I'd like them in the workshop by tomorrow," he called out to the AI.

" _Right away, Sir_ ," he responded dutifully.

I watched Tony work on the car some more before hopping down from the table and padding over to him, also leaning over the engine.

"I can't figure out what's causing the hesitancy," Tony muttered, though if it was to me I had no idea.

My eyes scanned the engine and I pointed to the side of the engine where several fuel injectors were located. "They look dirty… could be causing the fuel pressure to be low and therefore adding an insufficient amount of fuel when you accelerate the car," I said informationally. Tony looked at me with wide eyes.

"How do you know that?"

I blinked. How _had_ I known that? The information just kinda… popped into my head. I had no idea where it came from or how I knew it. Ugh, having amnesia really sucked hardcore sometimes.

"Honestly, I have no idea, but I've learned to just roll with it by now," I said, shrugging. It just made me more confused trying to figure out how I knew what I did.

"Well," Tony began, "You seem to be correct about the fuel injectors. Anything else you might like to add?"

I rolled my eyes at him, but looked over the engine again. "If I'm remembering correctly, vacuum leaks also cause hesitancy when using the accelerator, so you may want to look into them and see if they are functioning correctly." Jeez, all the big words were currently being used. Maybe I had been a mechanic earlier in life?

"That's actually a good idea," Tony muttered to himself as he went over to the table to grab some supplies. "Would you like to assist me in these repairs?" He called out to me over his shoulder. I noticed how he avoided saying help.

"Sure, why not. Seems like it'd be like fun." That wasn't far from the truth. Yes, we got annoyed at each other every now and then, but for the most part it was fun working together like a well-oiled machine… no pun intended.

For the first time in weeks I completely forgot about what had transpired between us. It was nice just to hang out, like friends would, working on a project together with no real goal in mind.

It never lasts though.

* * *

 **I hope you guys enjoyed reading this chapter. I promise things will start to get a little more interesting from now on! I'd also really appreciate it if just a few of you would review so I know you want me to post more of this story :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with the MCU, that right belongs to Stan Lee and Marvel Studios. I only own my character and the plot that I made up.**

* * *

A couple of days passed, mostly filled with Tony working on the car and me helping out here and there, but that feeling in the pit of my stomach was back again, and it seemed for good. Every time I looked at him my stomach seemed to do a flip, which was more annoying than anything. The only reason for it would be me having a crush on him, but he was an absolute asshole on his best day, so I couldn't understand why. Maybe it was because he was the only person apart from Pepper that I really interacted with?

My deep thoughts were interrupted when Pepper called out to me saying she was going to go grab something from the office and would be back soon, though I wasn't really paying attention. I had often found myself thinking about things as I stared out the huge glass window overlooking the ocean, and now was no exception.

Sighing, I got up from my cross-legged position on the floor and made my way down to the workshop. What greeted me was something from the norm, at least for me it was.

Tony was standing in the very center of the workshop, holograms surrounding him, seeming to float in midair. When I looked closer I could see the holograms had information about the missiles on them, but I was more interested in the holograms themselves. I could understand the science behind it, but how he had managed to get them to work as such in the physical world without a monitor was beyond me. He truly was a genius.

It took a few minutes, but eventually Tony noticed I was standing there. He didn't, however, try and hide the information from me, but instead beckoned me forth with a hand. I curiously entered the workshop and padded over to his side.

"These are the Jericho missiles," Tony explained to me, pointing to a hologram that showed a diagram of a finished product. "They are the latest weapon manufactured by Stark Industries, created by yours truly." He grinned at me as he spoke, telling me all about how he had created them and what they were going to be used for. I already knew some of this information, but listening to him explain how he had created the missiles was fascinating. Only an insane man could have thought it up… but I supposed that wasn't far from the truth. He could be a little obsessive at times.

"How powerful are they?" I questioned, knowing that for them to be the next generation weapons they needed to have some kick behind them.

"Powerful enough to destroy LA," Tony responded. My eyes widened. The energy and power needed to destroy LA was like the Atom Bomb created by Howard all those years ago.

"Do you know how dangerous these could be if they fell into the wrong hands?" I had trouble keeping my voice calm as I spoke.

"And that's why they're not going to even get near the hands of our enemies," he countered smoothly. I guess I would just have to take his word on it then.

"How do the holograms work?" I asked, trying to change the subject to something else. Tony quickly exploded into an explanation of how JARVIS was the key factor into making them work the way they did, and the science and engineering behind it all. Once he explained it all to me it seemed fairly obvious, and I mentally kicked myself for not figuring it earlier. Eventually the topic changed to JARVIS.

"So he's a self-learning AI smart enough and with enough influence to control the entire house without fault?" Wow, JARVIS was more advanced than I had initially thought. He seemed capable of destroying the entire internet if he wanted to, but instead he was content with doing what Tony told him to do.

"Pretty much." Tony seemed pleased with himself. "I created him around the time I became CEO of Stark Industries to help me with everything, and since then he's become more and more advanced to the point where it is virtually impossible to find an AI or piece of technology more advanced than him."

Tony then proceeded to teach me how to use the holograms, with the help of JARVIS. It was more or less tell the AI to do something, such as expand the field of view, and then work on it from there. They also showed not just information stored in the Stark Industries Central Database, but also camera feeds from around the house, stuff on the internet and physical objects that have been converted into a holographic form. It was quite amazing, and it made me wonder why Tony even bothered to leave the workshop at all.

"I've been buzzing you for ages now, Tony," Pepper huffed as she entered the workshop. "Oh, hello Vaeta," she said with a smile when she saw me.

Tony shrugged, "Guess I was too into teaching Vaeta the ropes."

"Oh, how nice," she responded idly, flicking through the document she was holding in her hands, clearly not very interested in what he had to say.

"So what's the meaning of this intrusion, Miss Potts?" He questioned.

"You have an award ceremony you need to attend in two days, and the day after you're flying to Afghanistan to give a weapons presentation," she reeled off. Tony sighed. "No, Tony, you _are_ going to attend the ceremony. You _promised_ Rhodes you'd be there."

He waved an arm at her, "All right, all right! I'll be there," he grumbled.

"I hope he's been treating you nicely," Pepper said to me as Tony turned back to his holograms.

I nodded, "Yeah, he's been teaching me all about the latest technologies he's created. It's really fascinating, actually." The older woman laughed.

"At least he has someone to confide his genius plans to," she smiled before saying goodbye and leaving.

The moment she left I turned to Tony and punched him in the arm.

"Ow! What was that for!" he cried out indignantly, rubbing the area I had hit him in.

"You are going to go to that ceremony Tony Stark," I growled at him, my gaze never leaving his eyes.

"And if I don't?" he challenged.

I shrugged nonchalantly, my gaze slowly moving to the line of cars, the corner of my mouth turning up in a smirk. "I'm pretty sure I saw a baseball bat upstairs."

"You wouldn't!" Tony gasped. I narrowed my eyes.

" _Wouldn't I_?"

He stared at me for a few seconds before throwing his hands up into the air. "Fine! I'll go! You two women are going to be the death of me some day, I swear."

I sniggered softly and sprung to my feet, leaving Tony alone in the workshop as I curled up on the couch, picked up the remote and searched for a movie to watch.

* * *

"I'm leaving you in charge of the workshop," Tony said to me as he fixed the collar of his suit jacket, "And it'd better be in working condition when I get back."

I mock saluted him. "Of course, Mr. Stark. It will stay in the condition it is currently in."

"And for the love of god, don't touch my cars. Don't even go near them," he added quickly, remembering my threat two days prior. I hadn't actually meant it, of course, there's no way I'd ever do that, but he didn't have to know that.

"Scouts honour." I made a cross over my heart for good measure. Tony rolled his eyes in response.

"See you soon!" I called out to him as he got into his car and drove off, leaving me completely alone in his mansion of a house once more.

"Hmm, what do you think we should do JARVIS?" I asked rhetorically, already making my way down to the workshop.

" _That's up to you, Miss Callahan_ ," he replied respectfully, with maybe just a hint of sarcasm. I suppose he got the attitude from being around Tony all the time.

I spent the whole day messing around with the holograms, mainly just getting used to the feel of using them and telling JARVIS to do exactly what I wanted. They were really simple to use once I got past the whole touching-of-a-surface-that-wasn't-actually-there thing.

By the time night rolled around I was still using it, though now I was just reading up on previous manufactured weapons and goods created by Stark Industries as a bit of light reading before Tony got home. And when he got home, I immediately knew he had a woman in tow from the shrieks and giggles I could hear upstairs.

I slammed my forehead into the desk, a groan escaping my mouth. "JARVIS? You got any loud rock music in a playlist stored somewhere?" I mumbled, face pressed into the hard surface.

" _Of course, Miss Callahan, what would you like_?"

" _Anything_."

And so for the next couple of hours I listened to very loud rock music, idly using one of the computers to read a book online, before I fell asleep sometime after midnight.

* * *

I woke up to rock music still playing loudly and one Tony Stark working on a car while examining the components on a nearby computer. Rubbing my eyes, I sat up in the chair. According to the time it was nearly seven in the morning, which meant I had slept around five hours. Oh well, I was still functional. Somewhat.

I made my way over to Tony and leaned against the desk, yawning widely. "Still working on the car?"

He glanced momentarily up at me, a smirk on his face. "Oh, you're awake, I see."

I shrugged. "Yeah well, I didn't get much sleep with you and _Miss Fling_ up there going at it, but it could've been worse." I was definitely not jealous… I wasn't even aware I had the ability to feel such an emotion, especially in my half-awake state.

Tony barked out a laugh but didn't respond. I continued to observe him as he worked on the car, slowly forgetting that I was even there.

"Give me an exploded view," he said to JARVIS after a few minutes. The computer screen enlarged itself, focusing on the cylinders.

" _The compression in cylinder three appears to be low_ ," the British AI stated.

"Log that," Tony responded.

I glanced up as Pepper entered the workshop, lowering the volume of the music as she spoke to someone on the phone. "I'm gonna try again, right now," she said.

"Please don't turn down my music," Tony whined almost childishly.

Pepper huffed, her body screaming disappointment. "You're supposed to be halfway around the world right now."

Completely ignoring Pepper's words, Tony asked a different question, seemingly in an attempt to distract her. "How'd she take it?"

"Like a champ," the older woman responded dryly. I snorted. At least she hadn't screamed or cried like a couple of others had.

"Why are you trying to hustle me out of here?" Tony said indignantly.

"Your flight was scheduled to leave an hour and a half ago," she replied impatiently. I raised an eyebrow; there was no way Tony would leave on a flight that early, and she knew it too.

"That's funny," Tony began sarcastically, "I thought with it being my plane and all that it would just wait for me to get there."

"Tony, I need to speak to you about a couple things before I get you out of the door," Pepper said, looking down at the folders in her arms.

He continued to speak as if Pepper hadn't said anything at all. "Doesn't it kind of defeat the whole purpose of having your own plane if it departs before you arrive?"

"The man has a point," I said with a shrug. Pepper gave me a look that shut me up instantly.

"Larry called," she sighed, "He's got another buyer for the Jackson Pollock in the wings. Do you want it? Yes or no."

"Is it a good representation of his spring period?" Tony asked absentmindedly, not really thinking about what he was saying.

"Erm, no. The Springs was actually the neighbourhood in East Hampton where he lived and worked, not 'spring' like the season," Pepper responded.

"So?"

"I think it's a fair example. And I think it's incredibly overpriced." I smiled at that, knowing she had only added in that last part because that would get Tony's attention.

"I need it," he said immediately, "Buy it. Store it."

"Okay, the MIT commencement speech-"

"Is in June. Please, don't harangue me about stuff that's way, way, down…" Tony interrupted.

"They're haranguing me, so I'm gonna say yes," Pepper said, glancing once more down at the folder in her arms.

"Deflect it and absorb it. Don't transmit it back to me," he muttered.

"I need you to sign this before you get on the plane." Pepper held out a piece of paper to Tony. He didn't even glance at it.

"What are you trying to get rid of me for? What, you got plans?" Tony asked incredulously.

"As a matter of fact, I do," she said brightly. "With Vaeta."

"Wait what?" I immediately stood up, holding my hands out in front of me. "Woah, I didn't sign up to anything. At least, I don't remember ever doing so."

Pepper laughed. "We're just gonna go shopping. You need some new clothes." I looked down at myself, brows furrowing. What was she talking about? My jeans and blouse were completely fine as they were.

"I don't like it when you have plans," Tony sulked.

Pepper turned back to him, "I'm allowed to have plans on my birthday."

"It's your birthday?" Tony and I questioned at the same time. I glanced sideways at him from the corner of my eye. He seemed just as surprised as I did.

"Yes," she said slowly. "But I don't expect you to know that," she added, turning to me with a smile. Tony, on the other hand…

"I knew that. Already?" He feigned nonchalance.

"Yeah. Isn't that strange. It's the same day as last year," Pepper said sarcastically. I smiled. She knew how to deal with Tony as easily as breathing.

"Get yourself something nice from me," he said, completing ignoring her sarcasm.

"I already did."

"And?"

"It was very nice," she said brightly, giving me a wink when Tony turned away for just a second.

"Yeah?" He said inattentively.

"Very tasteful. Thank you, Mr. Stark."

"You're welcome, Miss Potts."

And with that she grabbed my arm and began dragging me out of the workshop, calling out to Tony over her shoulder. "I expect you'll be getting ready to leave now?"

"You've got a strong grip," I said incredulously as we reached the kitchen, glancing down at her vice-like grip on my upper arm.

"Yeah, well, you tend to learn a few things when you hang out with Tony Stark," she said as she let go.

I laughed, agreeing with her. "You've got that right."

After scanning me from head to toe Pepper deemed I was fit to be out in the human world and proceeded to drag me to her car with the promise of buying many, many things. She did not disappoint. We returned back to the mansion hours and hours later with more bags filled with clothes and items than I believed possible.

* * *

 **So we've finally reached the beginning of Iron Man 1. Yay! :D I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and if you did please give me a follow, favourite or a review to let me know if I should continue uploading the story for you to read ^~^**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with the MCU, that right belongs to Stan Lee and Marvel Studios. I only own my character and the plot that I made up.**

* * *

After sorting out all of the new clothes and possessions I had bought (with Tony's money) I flopped on the couch, exhausted. Pepper and I had been shopping for nearly six hours and had bought what seemed like half the stores items. I knew I wouldn't need to leave the house for a while after that shopping spree.

I rolled over on the couch so my face was pressed into the soft leather, not even fighting the call of sleep.

I woke up to darkness and a blanket wrapped around me. Silently thanking Pepper (for who else could it be?), I rubbed my eyes with closed fists and leaned forward into a sitting position.

"JARVIS, what time is it?" I yawned.

" _11 o'clock, Miss Callahan_ ," he responded as dutifully as ever. I made a noise in response. It was 11 pm? I _really_ needed to get onto a proper sleeping schedule.

Deciding that it wasn't worth it to lay there for another hour until I eventually fell back to sleep, I headed down to the workshop with the intent of simply messing around.

When I got down there I noticed something sitting on the desk next to the computers. A small box with my name on it. It could only be from Tony.

Leaning on the desk I picked it up, gently shaking the box. Something rattled inside. However, before opening the box I read the letter that accompanied it.

 _Vera,_

 _I figured you needed something to help you keep in touch with Pepper and I when we're not around, so I decided to create a new invention. It's like a hologram, but built into a phone. Much easier to use and far more technologically advanced._

I snorted. Of course it was. Tony was all about being technologically advanced.

 _I'm sure you can work out how to use it on your own. Also, I've added my number as a contact._

 _Call me if you need anything._

 _Tony_

I glanced down at the letter, which was handwritten, before slowly unwrapping the box, revealing the gift inside.

It looked like a phone, but at the same time, it didn't. The object was thinner, longer, and was comprised of entirely a screen. It was basically a mini hologram.

And so of course I spent the next hour or so fiddling with my gift, more out of boredom than anything. It was fairly easy to use, and I somehow managed to persuade JARVIS to connect me to the internet. That mightn't end well.

When 12:30 rolled around I pulled up my contact list, which currently only comprised of Tony's number, and pressed dial. It would be around now that his plane to Afghanistan would have landed, and as I was bored with no entertainment nearby I would annoy Tony.

It rang three times before Tony picked it up with a simple " _Hey_." I grinned widely at the sound of his voice.

"Hey yourself," I responded.

I heard him sigh. " _Figures. I step one foot off the plane and you're already calling me. Great timing by the way_ ," he added as an afterthought.

"I just couldn't resist calling you, especially as it is 12:30 here and I have nothing to do." I heard him chuckle on the other end of the line. "Anyways, how was your flight?"

" _It was great. Rhodes and I has some macho bonding time and nothing exploded on the flight here_."

Yea, I'm sure he did more than bond with Rhodes over alcohol, but I wasn't going to say anything.

"Enjoying yourself so far?" I questioned, leaning my arms on the desk next to the hologram-phone-thingie. I'd need to think of a name for it at some point.

" _Well, as I've only been here two minutes I've yet to decide. Call me back in a couple of hours and I'll have an answer for you_." I could just hear the grin in his voice.

"Don't have too much fun, okay? You're there for work, remember?" I reminded him, even though if our places were switched I'd have a bit of fun too.

We exchanged many snarky remarks and snide comments until Tony announced that he needed to be debriefed by the Generals on the next day's events.

"Don't get exploded, shot, or stabbed okay?" I said firmly. "Oh, and bring me back some souvenirs!" I quickly added.

" _Alright, I will_ ," he laughed in response.

"Promise?" I said.

" _Promise_ ," Tony responded before hanging up.

I clambered into my bed a few minutes later with a grin on my face.

* * *

The next day passed by quickly. Pepper came over and made breakfast for us as we talked about little things here and there, mostly about clients and when we should have another outing. She left a little after three in the afternoon, announcing that she had some paperwork to file, and I resumed my task of reading a random book off the shelf.

It was around nine that my holophone (yes, I finally found a name for it) began ringing. I picked it up, expecting Pepper to have called me as we had exchanged numbers, but it turned out Tony was the one who called me.

"Oh hey!" I said brightly when I heard his voice. "How was the weapons presentation?" I queried.

" _It went smoothly; they all loved it_."

I snorted. "Of course they did. A missile that can blow up LA city will do that to many people."

I could hear the rumbling of an engine on the other side of the line. "Where are you currently?"

" _Driving through the dry, barren wasteland that is known as the Afghanistan desert_ ," Tony responded somewhat dryly.

"Thanks for the insight there Stark," I retorted sarcastically with a role of my eyes. "Remind me to never take a hike out there then." Fiddling with a strand of my hair, I lay back down on the couch, legs hanging off the arm. "That also reminds me: have you got me my souvenir yet?"

Tony barked out a laugh. " _Not yet, I'm waiting for something special_."

"Aw, you spoil me so," I said with a wide grin.

" _Only because it's the only way I can bribe you into doing anything_."

"Ah, got me there Stark. It's my only weakness."

We continued speaking for a couple more minutes. "So when do you think you'll be back?" I finally asked.

" _Do you miss me that much_?" Tony said mockingly.

"No, not really. I'm just bored," I responded in the same tone.

" _Shouldn't be any more than a day and a half. I'm sure Pepper will keep you entertained long enough to stop you from destroying the house_."

We said our goodbyes after that and I wrapped myself around one of the fluffy cushions Pepper and I had bought. Sleep came quickly.

I was woken by the urgent ringing of my holophone. Grumbling under my breath about needing beauty sleep, I picked it up and irritably spoke to the man who had called me. "Tony, what is it?"

" _We've been attacked_!" He yelled. That immediately got me wide awake.

"What? Tony, get yourself out of there!"

" _I need you, Vaeta_ -" His voice cut off seconds before I heard him cry out and the dissonance of a bomb exploding close by. The signal went dead.

"Tony?" I said softly, my voice wavering. "Tony answer me!" I cried out to the dead line. It took me a couple of seconds of sitting there, wondering what had happened before everything seemed to catch up to me. I immediately called Pepper, and when she picked up, practically sobbed out what had happened. I remember her saying she'd be right over, but I don't remember hanging up or waiting for her to arrive.

I blinked when I saw Pepper in front of me, anxiously waving her hand in front of my face. "Oh thank god you're okay," she exhaled heavily. "I thought you'd gone into shock or something." I could see that her eyes were slightly red-rimmed as if she'd been recently crying.

"Tony?" I said softly, curling my arms around my knees, staring openly into her eyes. She bit her lower lip.

"I was just on the phone to Rhodes. They were attacked by a group of people and Tony…" her voice trailed off slowly. "And Tony he… they couldn't find him. They've sent out search parties for him, but it's likely he was captured. Either that or he's dead."

"No," I said forcefully, startling Pepper. "No, he's not dead," I repeated. "He can't be…"

* * *

That one thought, _Tony is not dead_ , was what kept me going for the next four days. After Pepper had told me what happened I had made my way down to the workshop and sat myself down in the chair, wrapped in one of Tony's jackets, and stayed like that for the entire time. I lost track of time, whether I was conscious or not. Pepper often came down, forcing me to eat and drink, but all I could do was replay Tony's last words to me.

" _I need you, Vaeta."_

After thinking over those four words for a very long time, I knew I couldn't just sit here and do nothing. He needed me to do _something_.

I leaped up from the chair and discarded the jacket, quickly making my way into the shower and having the quickest shower ever.

In minutes I was dressed and in the driver seat of Tony's Audi, making my way to the Stark office building. I needed to have a little chat with an old friend.

Donning a pair of shades, I forced my way through the mob of reporters, all of which excitedly turned my way and began throwing questions at me. I dodged them all with silence, definitely not in the mood to talk to them. I had bigger fish to fry.

I walked straight past the two security guys at the foot of the stairs and to Obadiah's office on the second floor. I barged right in, not even bothering to knock, and found him at his desk typing away at his computer.

"Oh, Miss Callahan," he said in a surprised tone when he saw me, quickly getting up from his chair. "What are you doing here?"

"Tony Stark. How much closer are you to finding him?" I said demandingly, crossing my arms over my chest for a greater effect.

The older man held up his hands. "It's a huge place to search, and we're trying our best. But so far we have nothing on his location."

"You've had _four days_ and you've come up with nothing? I thought Stark had the greatest technology of the era!" I practically screeched at the man. I knew I was being harsh, but he should be out there looking for Tony instead of holed up in his office.

"Even with that we still have limitations," Obadiah began but I quickly cut him off.

"Well try harder." And with that I turned on my heels and strode out of the office. Apparently I needed to do something more to help Tony. I needed to take it into my own hands, possibly build something that could find him.

I barely noticed the mob of reporters as I pushed past them, their shouts a dull ring in the back of my mind. I had something far more important to do.

By the next day I was swiftly working at Tony's desk in the workshop, flicking holograms all over the place as I searched for all the components and coding I needed to create the very thing that would aid me in finding Tony. It also required me to somewhat 'hack' into JARVIS' systems. I'm sure he didn't mind that much, after all, it was for a good cause.

I spent many sleepless nights during the next two weeks working on my project, all the while Pepper constantly came down to check on me. I guess she wanted to make sure that I was looking after myself. And I was… most of the time.

It was always the same. 'You need to eat and drink', 'You need to sleep', 'You need to leave the house', and my personal favourite: 'You need to let Obadiah handle looking for Tony'.

No way Pepper. I knew she was just trying to make the best of the worst situation, but I needed to do something or I'd go insane just sitting and waiting for the good or bad news to arrive. And this was the only way I knew how.

Two weeks, four days and sixteen hours after I received the phone call from Tony, I finished my project. Wheeling the chair backwards, I sat up, palms placed down on the cold surface of the desk, a determined look in my eyes.

I glanced up at the ceiling, the smallest of smirks tugging at the corner of my mouth, before welcoming my creation into its new world.

"Say hello to your little brother AEIMS, JARVIS."

* * *

 **So things just got a little interesting :D I hope you guys all enjoyed reading this chapter, and if you did please give the story (or me!) a favourite and a follow, and don't forget to review :)**

 **A special thanks to Lorie for reviewing, it's really appreciated!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with the MCU, that right belongs to Stan Lee and Marvel Studios. I only own my character and the plot that I made up.**

* * *

" _Systems booting up_ ," said a male British voice, similar to JARVIS, yet not quite the same. I grinned widely from ear to ear, barely resisting the urge to triumphantly yell out. All those sleepless nights, spent working well into morning, and sometimes even into the afternoon, had been worth it in the long run.

" _Systems booted up_ ," said the voice again.

"Run interface through phases one and two," I replied, scooting the chair forwards so I could reach the computer screen to observe the systems check. I needed to make sure everything was working properly or bad things would happen.

" _Interface complete on phases one and two_ ," the AI responded obediently.

"Begin engagement on satellites."

" _Beginning engagement_."

I stared eagerly at the screen, watching AEIMS at work, swiftly and efficiently hacking into the satellite's programming and taking control without alerting the government. It took no longer than five minutes until it… _he_ , had full control.

" _Engagement complete_."

"Well done, AEIMS," I said with a smile.

" _Thank you, Miss Callahan_."

Tapping my fingers lightly on the keyboard, I surveyed the screen with furrowed brows. "Is phase three ready?"

" _Four minutes and thirteen seconds until phase three is ready_ ," AEIMS reeled off.

I sighed. "Is there any way to make it go faster?" I muttered under my breath.

" _I can help, if you wish me to_ ," JARVIS offered helpfully.

"Dummy!" I called out into the seemingly empty workshop, "I need the open ended C spanner, please." The robotic arm crawled out from the corner he had hid himself in after I shouted at him for dropping one of the tools previously, picked up the spanner from the pile of tools and handed it to me. "Thanks," I said gently to him and patted him. He waved his 'hand' at me, reminding me of a dog wagging its tail happily.

Smiling to myself, I darted over to a somewhat hidden cabinet in the wall near the desk and opened it, swiftly using the spanner to work on the machine inside.

"Alright, I think that's it. JARVIS, can you connect to AEIMS now?" I called out as I shut the cabinet, discarding the spanner over my shoulder.

" _Uploading information and data right now_ ," JARVIS responded immediately.

I sat back down in the chair, fingers drumming on the desk as I waited patiently. Actually, quite impatiently if I was being honest.

Finally both AI's called out in unison: " _Online and ready_."

"Excellent," I grinned, tapping away at the keyboard. "Begin phase three."

* * *

Two months later and I was no closer to finding Tony than I had been to start with, and it made me far less sociable. It got to the point that two weeks ago Pepper had decided to just leave meals on the desk every morning and evening, whether I ate them or not.

I had become irritable and prone to violent mood swings, most likely from a lack of sleep. Even with two advanced AI's I was still unable to locate Tony's location. There had been a couple of times where I thought I had found him, but it always turned out to just be groups of rogues creating explosions in the Afghanistan desert.

Even so I refused to quit. I wouldn't stop searching for him until I had one hundred percent proof that he was dead. But I couldn't bear to think about that possibility.

"See anything?" I questioned for what felt like the hundredth time in two weeks.

" _Nothing so far_ ," came AEIMS' dutiful response. I buried my face in my arms, hissing through my teeth. If I could only go to Afghanistan myself I would be able to find Tony that much easier, as right now it was a zero point two five chance in him returning alive. But Pepper had absolutely refused to allow it to happen, and without Pepper I had no way of getting there.

Rhodey, of course, had no idea I even existed, so I had to relay my information through Pepper to him, giving the excuse that JARVIS was the one finding out this information. Pepper, of course, was more than happy enough to oblige. We both wanted Tony Stark back. I didn't want to admit it, but I felt lonely without him, even lost and confused.

I was broken out of my thoughts by Pepper placing a plate of toast and scrambled eggs next to me. I heard her sigh heavily.

"You didn't sleep, did you?" She said almost disappointedly.

"No," I mumbled into my arms. I was too wired to sleep, and whenever I did nightmares plagued my mind.

"This isn't healthy, Vaeta," Pepper said in a somewhat motherly tone.

"I know," I said softly, lifting my head up to look at her. "But I can't not doing something Pepper, and this is the only way I know how to find him."

"Not sleeping isn't going to make the process quicker," she began, leaning a hip against the edge of the desk. "You need sleep if you're going to function properly." I knew she had contemplated many times calling a doctor to come look at me, but every time I vehemently refused. Eventually she gave up asking, but that didn't mean she stopped caring.

"I suppose I could go for a few hours of sleep…" my eyes glanced at the plate of food, stomach rumbling quietly. I also hadn't eaten the bowl of food she set out for dinner last night.

Pepper gave me a firm look. "By the time I get back I expect you to be asleep, alright? I need to head into the office to file some more paperwork."

"Thank you," I said softly as she started walking away, "For everything." Pepper smiled at me.

"I know," she said.

When she left I practically inhaled the food, not even bothering to savour the taste.

" _Miss Callahan_ ," AEIMS began, quickly catching my attention.

"Yes AEIMS?" I questioned, setting the plate to my side and leaning towards the computer screen.

" _I have spotted some unusual activity in the mountains of the Afghanistan desert_."

"Define unusual," I said as the AI brought up images on the screen.

" _There are radio signals calling out for backup, as well as large explosions that could only be caused by missiles_." I could see jagged mountains in the background of the images, and as the images zoomed in, great big balls of fire that licked at the sky and people running around with guns in their hands. It was very similar to the previous cases, but I never let one go unchecked.

"Keep an eye on it AEIMS, tell me if something more unusual happens." Meanwhile I curled myself up in the chair, more than ready for a cat nap.

* * *

 _I was running through the Afghanistan desert, arms raised in front of my face to block out the sand that whipped past me from the explosions. Bullets fired past me as I ducked and weaved. Terrified screams rang painfully in my ears, but I ignored them. I needed to find someone… someone that I needed to bring to safety. Someone of great importance._

 _I crouched behind a large boulder, lungs heaving with the effort of inhaling oxygen. I could taste dirt and grit on my tongue, and my sides felt like they were on fire, but I didn't care. My safety wasn't of importance._

 _Darting out from behind the boulder, I continued running… running in the direction that felt right, like I needed to go there._

 _Random people rushed by me, civilians and soldiers, either curled up in a ball, shooting a gun, or dead on the sandy ground. They were all faceless, like pawns in a chess game. Easy to give up and not worth much in the long run._

 _I stopped next to one of the faceless soldiers laying on the ground, dead or dying I wasn't sure, but he wasn't moving. My eyes surveyed the destruction around me, finally falling on my target. I would have yelled out to the person, but my lungs and throat didn't let me._

 _Out of the corner of my eye I saw a missile steadily head towards the ground, like a bird shot out of the air, heading straight for the person I needed to get to._

 _A strangled cry left my body as I ran forwards full pelt, but I knew I wouldn't make it in time, and I watched, horrified, as it exploded, the blast knocking me over._

 _I scrambled to my feet, ears ringing, running towards my target. I crouched down next to the body, hands quickly moving to cover up the bleeding on the chest and abdomen, even though I knew it was hopeless._

" _Tony," I croaked, staring down into his eyes, watching the light in them slowly dwindle._

" _Vaeta," he began in a rough voice, accompanied by a bout of coughing that drew blood from his mouth. "I need you, Vaeta." And with that his eyes fluttered closed, head falling back to the ground, the last breath leaving his body._

 _A guttural animal-like cry left my lips, a heart-wrenching scream that tore me from the inside out._

I gasped, flying up from the chair, heart pounding a hundred times a minute. My hands quickly covered my face as I sunk back into the chair, a soft moan escaping me. It was always the same nightmare, but it just seemed to get worse and worse every time I fell asleep.

" _Miss Callahan_?" AEIMS called out to me. I slowly uncovered my face, breathing in deeply in an attempt to get my heart rate back to normal.

"Yes AEIMS?" I responded, my voice shaking slightly.

" _I think you would like to see this_ ," he said, pulling up a couple of images. I leaned into the computer screen, my eyes widening when I saw them.

It was Tony. It was definitely him, but he looked the worse for wear. He wore ripped trousers and a vest, his jacket tied around his head. I stared at the images for a couple of seconds, taking in his appearance before snapping to attention.

"JARVIS, get Rhodey on the phone, now!" I said authoritatively. Within seconds the line was connected and I waited impatiently for the man to pick up. It was very much a life or death situation.

"Who is this?" Rhodey asked, causing me to grind my teeth.

"It doesn't matter who I am, what does matter is that I've found Tony and you'd better get to him quickly," I reeled off in the same breath.

"Woah, woah, woah, what do you mean you found Tony?" The man exclaimed. I had to fight back the urge to scream at him.

"I'll tell you everything afterwards, but right now you need to go get him." I told him the coordinates that the images had been taken at and immediately hung up, knowing that he would get right on it. I just had to hope that Tony was still out there, and alive. He had to be.

Unable to just sit there and do nothing until I received the news, I called Pepper, asking her to come over right now.

* * *

The hours passed as Pepper and I sat together in the workshop. I had told her everything (except about the nightmare) and we were now waiting for Rhodey to call, saying that Tony was either alive or dead. It was painstakingly slow, but we had nothing to talk about, so we waited in complete silence. Even the two AI's were utterly silent.

We both jumped as Pepper's phone began ringing. She pressed the green button, put the phone on speakerphone and set it down on the desk as Rhodey' voice filled the room.

"We've found him Pepper: Tony. He's alive, but in real bad condition." I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so I just sat there as relief filled my body.

"Oh thank god," Pepper breathed. "How is he? Can he talk?"

"He's practically passed out next to me, but I promise he'll live. We gave him a ration pack and a bottle of water," Rhodey said breathlessly. "But you won't believe this; someone led us to Tony, gave us the coordinates where we found him and all."

"Oh really?" Pepper said, raising an eyebrow at me. I shrugged in response, there had been no time to explain myself.

"Yea, she said she'd explain everything once we found Tony. Do you have any idea who she is?"

"Well, if she knows Tony, then I most likely know her, but I can't be sure," Pepper said evenly, lying straight through her teeth, all the while giving me a look that could set a wet piece of timber alight.

"Okay, thanks anyway. We'll be landing at the airstrip in about twenty hours, so I suggest you get some sleep and maybe call an ambulance. Tony looks like he could really use a hospital," Rhodey sounded exhausted as he spoke.

I zoned out while he and Pepper said their goodbyes, leaning back into the chair, eyes closed. Tony was alive. He wasn't in the greatest condition, but he was alive, and that was all that mattered.

"I'm so glad Tony's safe and alive," Pepper said quietly. I opened my eyes, a small smile gracing my features.

"Me too," was all I said in response.

* * *

 **Thank you so much to everyone who is reading my story, it means so much to me! And also thank you to everyone who has followed and favourited either me or my story, and a very special thank you to Hannah. kaho or reviewing the previous chapter. Yes, AEIMS does stand for something but it'll be explained in chapter 8 :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with the MCU, that right belongs to Stan Lee and Marvel Studios. I only own my character and the plot that I made up.**

* * *

By nine am the next morning Happy had driven Pepper and I to the Edward's Air Force Base in California where we would meet up with Tony. I had given the excuse that I was an old friend of Pepper's so that Happy wouldn't act all suspicious of me.

Pepper and Happy waited outside the car but I stayed inside, perched on the edge of the leather backseat. Now that I knew Tony was alive and I was going to see him in mere minutes, I had no idea what to do. Do I hug him? Give him a handshake? Just stare? It was all so damn confusing.

An ambulance waited nearby for when Tony arrived. Pepper had insisted on having one on hand but I knew Tony wouldn't allow himself to be driven to the hospital. I knew I wouldn't.

When the Air Force plane finally arrived I hesitantly got out the car and stood next to Pepper. I watched as the plane taxied on the runway before stopping, the rear door opening moments after the engine was switched off.

I held my breath as the figures of Tony and Rhodey appeared with Tony sitting down in a wheelchair, right arm in a sling. He looked absolutely terrible, but at least now he was wearing proper clothes.

Tony stood up from the wheelchair, Rhodey guiding him off the plane.

"Watch it, coming up here," Rhodey grinned.

"Are you kidding me with this?" Tony said, indicating towards the waiting ambulance as paramedics rushed forward with a stretcher. "Get rid of them." I had to hold back the urge to roll my eyes. It was just so Tony.

He walked down the ramp to Pepper and I, a smile on his face. "Your eyes are red," he said to Pepper, "A few tears for your long-lost boss?"

Pepper smirked, "Tears of joy. I hate job hunting."

"Yeah, vacation's over."

He then turned to me, reaching his left hand out to me, which I gingerly reached for with my own. The moment our hands touched I was pulled into a bone crushing hug. "Thank you for rescuing me," Tony whispered softly into my ear before pulling away, a look on his face that meant he could have said anything to me.

After regaining the capacity to breathe again I met his eyes briefly, conveying my thoughts that we would talk about it later. I was not ready to explain everything while in the presence of other people, never mind actually telling Tony.

"Ready to go?" Happy called from the driver's seat of Tony's Rolls Royce. Pepper went to go sit in the passenger seat while Tony and I made ourselves comfortable in the backseat. "Where to, Sir?"

"Take us to the hospital, please, Happy," Pepper interjected before Tony could say anything.

"No," Tony responded immediately in a forceful tone.

"No?" Pepper questioned incredulously, "Tony, you have to go to the hospital."

"No is a complete answer."

"The doctor has to look at you," the older woman argued.

Tony met her gaze evenly as I shrunk myself into the corner of the seat, not wanting to get into the middle of something. "I don't have to do anything," he said firmly. "I've been in captivity for three months. There are two things I want to do: I want an American cheeseburger, and the other-"

"That's enough of that," Pepper sighed.

"-is not what you think," Tony continued. "I want you to call for a press conference now."

"Call for a press conference?" She said dubiously, "What on earth for?"

Completely ignoring her question, Tony leaned back into the leather seat, giving me a grin from the side of his mouth. "Hogan, drive. Cheeseburger first."

And so Happy drove us to the nearest Burger King Restaurant where Tony ordered enough cheeseburgers to feed an army and a half, though he did offer me one which I declined. Pepper had forced me to eat a whole breakfast that morning and I felt like I wouldn't eat for a week. It was a nice thought though.

By the time we reached Stark Industries' factory Tony had eaten all but one of the burgers which I considered to be a feat on its own. I could see Obadiah and a crowd of people waiting outside to welcome him home, and quickly donned a pair of shades. It had become a habit now whenever people were around.

Obadiah rushed to the car door, practically pulled Tony out of the car and hugged him tightly. "Look at this!" He boomed loudly, "Tony. We were going to meet at the hospital."

"No, I'm fine," Tony responded somewhat stiffly. I climbed out of the car, ready to diffuse any situations if they arose, though I wasn't sure how Obadiah would react to me interfering. He had tried to call me at least five times after I yelled at him, all of which I ignored. On second thought that probably wasn't the best call.

"Look at you!" The older man continued as if Tony hadn't shot him down. "You had to have a burger, yea? Well, come on. You got me one of those?"

"There's only one left," Tony said somewhat possessively, "I need it."

"Hey, look who's here!" Obadiah said with a large grin on his face when he noticed Pepper and I, though I'm not sure if I imagined it or not, but I swear his look darkened when his gaze met mine.

We quickly made our way through the throng of people to the building. Pepper and I stood near the back while Tony, Rhodey and Obadiah made their way to the podium at the head of the room.

Within seconds of us entering the building a professional-looking man in a suit and tie approached us. Well, more specifically Pepper, but he did glance briefly at me. I tried my hardest not to stare at him, but I could glance at him through my peripheral vision thanks to the shades.

"Miss Potts?" The man asked carefully, folding his hands respectfully in front of him.

"Yes?" Pepper turned to the man.

"Can I speak to you for a moment?" He queried, giving me another glance. I pretended to be busy watching the three men talk amongst themselves at the head of the crowd.

"I'm not part of the press conference, but it's about to begin right now," the older woman informed him.

"I'm not a reporter," he quickly replied, "I'm Agent Phil Coulson, with the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division." I perked up at the mention of Agent.

"That's quite a mouthful," Pepper commented idly.

"I know. We're working on it," _Agent_ Coulson sighed.

"You know," Pepper began, turning to face Agent Coulson again, "We've been approached already by the DOD, the FBI, the CIA-"

"We're a separate division with a more specific focus," he quickly interrupted. "We need to debrief Mr. Stark about the circumstances of his escape."

Now I couldn't hold back my interest and turned my head to look at him. So he knew something about how Tony escaped his hostage situation. Interesting… But before I could say anything Pepper spoke.

"I'll put something in the book, shall I?" She said with a smile.

"Thank you." And with that Agent Coulson sidled away, leaving me with quite a few unanswered questions.

Pepper and I both turned to face the front as Obadiah stood at the podium, looking as if he was about to say something. However, he paused when he noticed Tony wasn't standing next to him.

"Hey, would it be all right if everyone sat down?" Tony asked, sitting down at the base of the podium. "Why don't you just sit down? That way you can see me, and I can… A little less formal and…" his words trailed off as the crowd of reporters all lowered themselves to their knees. Pepper and I, however, both stayed standing at the back of the room where Rhodey crept up next to us.

"What's up with the love-in?" He asked softly.

"Don't look at me, I don't know what he's up to," Pepper replied. Rhodey looked at me and I simply shrugged my shoulders, fully aware that he had no idea who I was or that I was the one who alerted him to Tony's situation and that I should most likely tell him sooner than later.

"Good to see you," Tony said to Obadiah.

"Good to see you," the older man repeated, smiling.

"I never got to say goodbye to Dad," he said softly to him before addressing the crowd.

"I never got to say goodbye to my father. There's questions that I would have asked him. I would have asked him how he felt about what this company did. If he was conflicted, if he ever had doubts. Or maybe he was every inch the man we all remember from the newsreels."

He paused for a moment and the air became suddenly silent, no one even daring to breathe. "I saw young Americans killed by the very weapons I created to defend them and protect them. And I saw that I had become part of a system that is comfortable with zero accountability."

"Mr. Stark!" A young male reported suddenly called out.

"Hey, Ben," Tony said after glancing at his nametag.

"What happened over there?"

"I had my eyes opened," he replied softy before stepping up to the podium. "I came to realize that I have more to offer this world that just making things blow up. And that is why, effective immediately, I am shutting down the weapons manufacturing division until such a time as I can decide what the future of the company will be-"

Tony was cut off as all the reporters jumped up to their feet, shouting out questions. Obadiah immediately moved over to the podium to try and take control of the situation, but Tony continued speaking.

"-What direction it should take, one that I'm comfortable with and is consistent with the highest good for this country, as well."

Obadiah finally managed to hurry Tony away from the podium and take back control of the conference. "What we should take away from this is that Tony's back! And he's healthier than ever," he quickly said. "We're going to have a little internal discussion and we'll get back to you with the follow-up."

Tony left the room, Pepper and I swiftly following after him as to not get mobbed by the still shouting reporters. The older woman directed me back to the car, but Tony continued along the parking lot, Happy walking behind him like a bodyguard.

"That wasn't good, was it?" I asked Pepper as we buckled ourselves in.

"No, not really," she responded quietly, a soft sigh escaping her.

"What do you think the stock drop is gonna be?"

"Very bad."

We sat in complete silence until Happy and Tony arrived, the latter a frown on his face. The drive back to Tony's place in Malibu was also in complete silence.

* * *

Tony and I stood outside his mansion, watching as Happy pulled the car out of the driveway to take Pepper back to her place. I had promised to make sure Tony was doing alright, but I knew she'd come back tomorrow to check up on the both of us.

The place was completely dark inside, showing no signs of life. We entered the front door without saying anything, Tony tapping the computer access panel in the hallway. The lights flickered on.

" _Welcome home, Sir_ ," JARVIS greeted.

"Thank you kindly, JARVIS," Tony responded as we walked down the hallway to the huge glass window looking out to the vast ocean beyond.

" _It's been a long time_ ," the British AI continued, almost sadly. " _Based on news reports Miss Callahan and I calculated your safe return at zero point two five percent_."

Tony glanced back at me with a raised eyebrow to which I merely shrugged in response. "Yea, I missed you too."

While I leaned against the wall, he bent down at the table and picked up a box that held a fancy looking watch inside, complete with a note that could only be from Obadiah as a welcome home gift.

There was silence for a few moments before JARVIS spoke again. " _You have one thousand seven hundred and thirteen new voice messages. How shall I categorize for you_?"

A hologram popped up showing all the messages, and I watched as Tony flicked through a couple of them.

"Delete all," he said monotonously.

" _I am detecting the presence of electromagnetic energy in the house_ ," JARVIS said curiously.

"Mhmm," Tony replied, "Boot up the scanner will you?"

" _Right away, Sir_."

"Electromagnetic energy?" I asked curiously, following Tony down the steps into the workshop. "Please tell me you didn't bring a miniaturized version of the sun into the house?" I added somewhat as a joke, needing to diffuse the atmosphere somehow.

Tony merely grinned at me. "You could say that." He sat down at the desk, spun the chair around to face me and begun one-handedly unbuttoning his shirt, revealing a circular object that glowed a gentle blue smack dab in the center of his chest. And I mean _in_ the center. It looked like it had been shoved right into his chest.

"What is that?" I breathed, eyes glued to the slightly pulsating object.

"How did you rescue me?" Tony countered, spinning on the chair to face the computer monitors.

I sighed internally. Even after all he'd been through he was still doing the same antics as usual. "Answer mine and I'll answer yours," I finally said, leaning a hip against the desk so I could continue staring at the object.

"It is a miniaturized arc reactor," he grinned again, tapping away at the screen with nimble fingers. "Your turn."

My gaze lifted up to meet his eyes, both eyebrows raised as high as they could go. "You built that _in a cave_?" I said incredulously.

He didn't even glance my way. "I believe it's still your turn?"

I barely held back my very slight annoyance at him. "I tracked you using satellites. _Your turn_."

"Yes I did. It took a while, and I had some help, but I got there in the end." Tony leaned back in the chair, allowing JARVIS to run a scan on the uncovered part of his chest. "So what have you been doing these past three months?"

"Doing my best to find you, and it worked."

"You didn't leave the workshop, did you?" He finally glanced at me.

My mouth thinned slightly. "It's my turn to ask a question Stark." He simply raised an eyebrow at me. "No," I finally admitted. Tony sighed softly in response. "But I didn't just sit here in the chair and stare at the screen. I was productive."

"Oh really?" he responded with a smirk, buttoning up his shirt when the scan was complete. "And what is it that you did?"

It was my turn to grin. "You could say I _built_ something too. Something that rivals even your greatest inventions." His head cocked to the side curiously. "Say hello, AEIMS," I continued, my eyes never leaving Tony's.

" _Hello Mr. Stark, it is a great pleasure to finally meet you_ ," AEIMS said obediently, and I watched as Tony glanced around the room.

"…That's not JARVIS," he said slowly, his gaze coming back to look at me.

I shook my head, grinning even wider. "Nope. I created my on AI, ingeniously name AEIMS, short for Artificial Engineering Intelligence Mainframe System, for the sole purpose of finding you." Tony looked taken aback.

"You did that for me?" He said softly. My grin quickly morphed into a simple smile, one that conveyed purely gentleness and maybe just a touch of melancholy.

"Of course I did Tony. I'd do anything for you."

We stared at each other for what seemed like minutes, and I felt the familiar flutter return to my stomach. I swallowed, my eyes quickly moving so I was staring at the floor.

"Uhm, I should probably leave…" I murmured quietly. "You need rest, so…" I turned to leave but felt his hand wrap around my wrist.

"Wait," Tony said, and I glanced over my shoulder to stare despondingly into his eyes. He seemed at a loss of what to say, and after a few moments he slowly let go. "I just wanted to say thank you, again. For everything." His voice was unlike anything I had heard before. Instead of the usual snark or playfulness it was deadly serious and solemn.

I simply smiled in response before swiftly walking out of the workshop, practically feeling his eyes burning holes into my skin.

There was a dull ache in my chest, and I had no idea what it was… and maybe I didn't want to find out.

* * *

 **Merry Christmas everyone! :) Here's my present to you guys for this year, I hope you enjoyed it. Please remember to favourite, follow and review if you did.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with the MCU, that right belongs to Stan Lee and Marvel Studios. I only own my character and the plot that I made up.**

* * *

The next morning after I woke up I kept to myself in my bedroom, curled up in the sheets and my face buried in the pillow. I didn't know if I could even face Pepper today, let alone Tony. The man drove me absolutely crazy, and I had no idea why.

I left the room around noon bedraggled and sleep-deprived, covering up a yawn with my hand. Everything seemed quiet, or at least until I walked into someone. Or did they walk into me?

The sound of paper going everywhere filled my ears as I stepped back, rubbing my head. "Ouch," I mumbled, eyes opening to fall upon my victim, or was it the culprit?

"Omg Pepper I'm so sorry!" I practically squealed out when I saw that it was her, and quickly bent down on my knees to help her pick up all the loose bits of paper.

"No, no, it's fine Vaeta. It was my fault; I wasn't watching where I was going," the older woman said with a wave of her hand.

"Neither was I," I countered, handing her the pile I gathered up in my arms.

"Let's agree to disagree, huh?" She smiled at me, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. She was exhausted, both mentally and physically, just as I was, and it was showing. I could see bags under her eyes that weren't fully covered up by make-up.

"What are those for?" I queried as I pointed to the fairly large stack of paper she was carrying around.

"Oh, just some paperwork. Figured I'd go through it here so I could check up on you and Tony," she responded. "How is he, by the way?"

I sucked in a breath through my front teeth, creating a soft hissing sound. "Well, I haven't seen him since last night, but he looked okay. I mean, not physically; he looked terrible, but mentally…" I trailed off, covering my face with my hands. "Ugh, I'm sorry for rambling Pepper," I mumbled.

"It's okay," she said softly. "You've been through hell and back, and that's why I'm here: for morale support if you need it."

I lowered my hands and smiled at Pepper, a real genuine smile for once, not the usual bullshit smile I had been using for the past couple of months.

"Thanks," I murmured quietly, sliding past her and continuing down the hallway. I still wasn't sure if I really _wanted_ to go check up on Tony, but I just couldn't not, and so I made my down the marble staircase leading down to the workshop.

I found him sitting at the desk, arm sling cast haphazardly to the side and fingers flying on the keyboard. Sidling up next to him, I leaned a hip on the desk, eyes trained on the screen, only looking at him when he stopped typing.

"Hey," he greeted me.

"Hey," I repeated. Tony looked worse for wear, but at least he was alive. "How are you doing?" I asked, voice quivering slightly.

"Truthfully?" He sighed, leaning back in the chair, right hand rubbing his temple. "Not good. This," he tapped the miniaturized arc reactor glowing through his shirt, "Is not functioning as it should be, so I need to make an upgraded version."

I stared at his chest for a few moments before flicking my eyes to the screen where I could see 3D models of the arc reactor. "Would you like some help?" I finally asked, a glimmer of a smile on my face.

* * *

We spent the entire day designing an upgraded model of the arc reactor currently lodged in Tony's chest cavity, fine tuning some points, and even completely disregarding others, until it was perfect for the job it needed to do: keep Tony alive.

I watched Tony as he tapped away at the keyboard, adding the finishing touches to the code. We both scrutinized the 3D model before he glanced up at me, a sly grin on his face. "Shall we start machining the parts?"

"Yes, I think so," I agreed.

" _Right away, Sir and Miss_ ," JARVIS responded immediately as the far end of the workshop began lighting up, machines that I hadn't seen being used before turning on.

"Not bad for a bunch of ones and zeros," Tony commented as he scooted the chair away from the desk to face me.

"Yea, that I largely helped to make," I grinned. He rolled his eyes in response, but I could see a grin also on his face.

Sitting back, Tony and I observed the machines doing their work, and Dummy eagerly waiting next to one of the 3D printers, arm outstretched and ready to collect the created piece.

I could feel a sort of heaviness behind my eyes, one that now only affected me when I wasn't completely focused on finding the man currently sitting next to me.

"I think it's time to get some sleep," I announced, rising to my feet and turning to Tony, hands on my hips.

"I need, I need to stay here and… and make sure everything is going well, and also that Dummy doesn't drop something." Tony immediately began blabbering, but I stared firmly at him until he shut up.

"I trust Dummy to do the best he can," I said, even though I myself knew he often _did_ drop items, but all he wanted to do was please, and I respected that.

"You, you _trust_ Dummy?" Tony seemed slightly taken aback.

"Yes, he was very helpful in me finding you. Was always there when I needed him to be," I countered smoothly. Tony raised his hands in defeat.

"Well alright then, if you trust him to do the job then I trust him too," he said as he stood up from the chair, stretching out his back with a slight wince. His arm must still be hurting…

"C'mon, let's get you to bed," I said as I gently grabbed his good arm and began pulling him up the staircase with little objection from the man himself.

Pushing him into his room, I leaned against the doorframe. "Now I don't wanna wake up during the middle of the night and find you down in the workshop, you hear me?" I warned. "I'll have AEIMS keep a close eye on you if I have to."

"Yea, I promise," Tony yawned, waving me away as he stumbled to the bathroom section of his en suite.

Satisfied, I closed the bedroom door behind me and made my way to my own room where I decided to have a shower before going to bed. Just something to help me relax and make sure the nightmares didn't come back.

* * *

When I awoke from my slumber I stared at the ceiling, breaths even and steady. It had been the first night where I hadn't been thrown into the waking world after a frankly terrifying and repeating nightmare.

By the time I was dressed and down in the workshop I didn't notice Tony wasn't there until I heard a whirring noise and felt something cold touch my hand. Glancing sideways I saw Dummy who looked pleased with himself, gently pinching my fingers as if wanting me to follow him.

Doing as he wanted, I smiled and said, "Lead on."

Humming happily, Dummy turned and wheeled himself to a desk on the far end of the workshop with me hot on his heels. When we arrived at the desk I saw all the pieces of the upgraded arc reactor laid out neatly side by side, not a scratch on them.

"Well done Dummy," I praised, patting his hand like I would a dog. He seemed to purr at me in response, leaning into the touch. It made me realize just how harshly I had been treating him before, and I told myself that I would be a lot nicer to him from now on. "Go hang out with You and have some fun, you deserve it," I said to him. "Just don't break anything," I quickly added.

Whirring cheerfully, Dummy trundled away to where I could see You 'standing' immobile in a darkened corner. I had yet to properly interact with him, but if he was anything like Dummy then he would be a good assistant.

Glancing once more at the parts on the desk, I made my way back to the computers and plopped myself in the chair, leaning back and closing my eyes, waiting for Tony to join me.

I wasn't sure how long I sat there, but eventually I felt a tap on my shoulder. I opened my eyes and saw Tony staring down at me.

"How long have you been down here?" He asked me.

I shrugged. "Since I woke up this morning." I rolled my eyes at his expression. "The sun has been up the entire time, I swear." He seemed content with my answer.

"Oh, yea," I perked up as I remembered the parts were ready. "JARVIS has finished machining the parts. Ready to put them all together?"

For the next hour we tinkered and welded, making sure everything fit together perfectly, otherwise it wouldn't work properly. When I told Tony what Dummy had accomplished he seemed surprised, but didn't completely disregard it. I swear he even looked a little pleased.

"And power up," Tony said softly. We both stared at the arc reactor he held in his hand as it began to glow for a second before puttering out, then brightening up again. This went on for a couple of seconds before it powered up fully and began to slightly pulsate the same blue-white light that the arc reactor in Tony's chest gave off.

"It works," I breathed, glancing up at him with a triumphant look on my face. Tony's expression mirrored mine. We seemed to stare at each other for an eternity, and I half expected something drastic to happen, but the only thing that happened was that Tony put the device down on the desk. I'm not sure if I felt disappointed or not.

"I think I can take it from here," he said softly to me. Nodding my head, I chewed on my lower lip as I stood up to leave the workshop.

"I'll leave you to your tinkering then. I'm hungry anyways," I said over my shoulder at him. Once up the marble staircase I leaned my forehead on the wall, exhaling heavily. I had no idea what just happened down there, and I wasn't intending on going any further or I felt as if I might just explode from the confusing thoughts swarming my mind.

"Time for breakfast," I said as I made my way to the kitchen. "Lunch," I quickly amended after looking at the clock on the wall.

* * *

I sat with Pepper in the living room, idly watching the pundit on TV as I finished my second slice of toast.

"Stark Industries!" He yelled out. "I've got one recommendation! Ready? Ready? Sell, sell, sell!" I wanted to turn down the volume as his voice was grating on my nerves, but Pepper had the controller. "Abandon ship! Does the Hindenburg ring any bells?" He continued, and quite overenthusiastically I must say. "Let me show you the new Stark Industries business plan! Look, that's a weapons company that doesn't make weapons!"

The moron on the screen was finally interrupted by a phone call from the one and only Tony Stark. Thank god, or rather, thank Tony.

"Pepper. How big are your hands?" He asked. I scooted over on the couch to observe the still screen where an image of Tony in a simple white tee was displayed.

I raised my eyebrows at Pepper as she responded with a "What?"

"How big are your hands?" He repeated, and I could just hear it in his voice that he was resisting the urge to roll his eyes.

"I don't understand why…" Pepper began before Tony interjected tersely.

"Get down here. I need you." And with that he ended the call, leaving Pepper and I to stare incredulously at each other.

"Uhm, I think I'll handle his eccentrics for today," I said as she nodded at me, giving me a "thanks" as I popped the last piece of toast in my mouth and headed down to the workshop.

I entered the code into the security pad and entered the brightly lit room, finding Tony sitting topless in the desk chair holding the upgraded arc reactor in his right hand.

"Oh, hey," he looked surprised to see me, but quickly got over the fact that it was me and not Pepper running to his aid. "Let's see _your_ hands then. Let's see them."

I obliging held up my hands, wiggling my fingers as I did so. "Oh, wow," he raised his eyebrows at me, "They are small. Very petite, indeed. I just need your help for a sec."

I sighed. "You mean you ran into a-" I made speech marks as I spoke "- _speed bump_."

"It's nothing. It's just a little snag," Tony said with a wave of his hand as he slowly pulled out the original reactor out of his chest. "There's an exposed wire under this device, and it's contacting the socket wall and causing a little bit of a short." He held out the old reactor in his left hand for me to take. "Its fine," he quickly added after seeing the expression on my face.

I took the old reactor from him and gently placed it on the table next to him, idly glancing at the array of screens behind Tony that showed his vital signs. "So what am I and my _petite_ hands here for?"

"I want you to reach in, and you're just gonna gently lift the wire out," Tony explained to me.

"Is it safe?" I asked hesitantly. It was one thing to muck around with a bunch of gadgets, but completely another when a person was involved, especially Tony.

"Yea, it should be fine," he said casually. "It's just like Operation. You just don't let it touch the socket wall or it goes 'beep'."

I stared quizzically at him. "What do you mean, 'Operation'?" I'd never heard of that before, and surely Tony knew that.

"It's just a game, never mind," he said quickly. "Just gently lift the wire. Okay? Great."

I sucked in a breath through my teeth, hand hovering over his chest. "I don't think I can do this Tony. It's one thing to tinker with metal, but to stick my _hand in your chest_ is a whole different ball game."

"No you're fine," Tony encouraged. "You're one of the most capable, qualified, trustworthy people I've met. The things you can do with a spanner." He paused when he saw my expression. "You're gonna do great, I swear. Is it too much of a problem to ask? 'Cause I'm kinda in a jam here…"

Exhaling the breath I had just been holding, I slowly dipped my right hand into his chest cavity, wincing and resisting the urge to pull it back out when I felt a sticky, gooey substance on my fingers. "Ugh, there's pus."

"It's not pus," Tony corrected me. "It's an inorganic plasmic discharge from the device, not from my body."

I gritted my teeth. "Yea, well tell the device to stop discharging it because the stuff _smells_!"

"Yea, it does," he agreed, though I wasn't sure if it was because I had my hand in his chest or not. "The copper wire. The copper wire, you got it?" He asked hurriedly.

I felt around in his chest cavity and grinned when touched what could only be the copper wire. "Yep, right between my fingers."

"Okay, now don't let it touch the sides," he said as I slowly began lifting the wire out. " _Argh_!" Tony cried out and I flinched.

"Oops," I said softly. Guess my hands weren't steady as I thought they were…

"-When you're coming out!" He finished somewhat breathlessly.

"Sorry." I cringed inwards.

"That's what I was trying to tell you before," Tony chided impatiently. "Okay, now make sure that when you pull it out, you don't… There's a magnet at the end of it!" As I was pulling on the copper wire I felt a pop and it came free, a magnet swinging on the end of it in the air above Tony's chest. He gave a sudden jerk. "That was it. You just pulled it out."

"Oh god. I'm so sorry Tony, what do I do?" I cried out, beginning to lower it. Surely putting it back in wouldn't do any harm?

"Okay, I was not expecting…" Tony began, "Don't put it back in! Don't put it back in!" He yelled out and I immediately pulled the copper wire away from him, throwing it onto the table next to me.

"Sorry!" I cringed again as warning alarms went off. "What am I supposed to do Tony? And what are those alarms for?"

"Nothing," Tony grunted, shifting restlessly in the chair. "I'm just going into cardiac arrest 'cause you yanked it out like a trout."

I made a disgruntled noise. "Well you should've told me beforehand then!"

He waved a hand impatiently at me, placing the upgraded arc reactor in my hand that had not just reached down into his chest. "We gotta hurry. Take this. You gotta switch it out really quick."

"Okay, okay," I said, more so to myself than Tony. "Everything's gonna be fine."

"Let's hope," he quipped at me. "Okay, you're gonna attach that to the base plate," he said and I obediently grabbed the end of the new copper wire and lowered it into his chest cavity, attaching it to where it needed to go. "Was that so hard? That was fun, right?" Tony said to me as I stuck the reactor in his chest. "Here, I got it. I got it. Nice." He gently pushed my hands away and clicked the reactor back into place

I breathed a sigh of relief, holding my hands out in front of me. "You feel okay there?" I asked, glancing at the machines which had stopped giving off the alarm signals.

"Yea, I feel great. You okay?" He gave a laugh of relief.

"Well, other than the fact that I nearly killed you, I'm swell!" My hands were shaking slightly.

"Hey, its fine, I swear." Tony said, sitting up in the chair and taking my hands in his, even though they were covered in an inorganic plasmic discharge.

"Yea, I know. I'm fine. Just," I exhaled heavily again, letting all the fear drain away at possibly killing Tony. "Just don't _ever_ ask me to do that again. I'm scarred for life now." Tony laughed, and after a moment I laughed too, until we were both laughing like two morons, my hands cocooned in his.

We stayed like that until even after our laughter died away and I was once again caught in his chocolate brown gaze. My breath hitched in my throat, and I felt as if I couldn't swallow. It seemed that Tony was slightly leaning forward, but I quickly pulled my hands from his, coughing to clear my throat.

"Uhm," I grabbed the nearest object to me that wasn't connected to Tony, which happened to be the old reactor. "What do you want me to do with this?"

"That?" Tony said somewhat absently, his gaze still locked on mine, before he snapped out of his reverie and glanced at the object in my hand. "Destroy it. Incinerate it."

"What?" I was incredulous. "How could you throw away something as beautiful as this? Don't you want to keep it?"

"Vaeta, I've been called many things. 'Nostalgic' is not one of them," he responded, looking anywhere but at me.

Biting my lower lip once more, I held tightly onto the reactor. I couldn't just throw it away… maybe Pepper had an idea of what to do with it.

"I guess I'll… Uhm, I have some other stuff to do," I said hesitantly, words tumbling out of my mouth seemingly at random. "You don't need me anymore, do you?" I asked, finally getting the words I wanted out.

"I guess not," Tony smiled gently at me. "Thanks again, I suppose."

"No problem," I said breathlessly, already turning around to leave.

Behind my back I heard Tony speaking to Dummy, snapping his fingers and, presumably, pointing at something. "Hey, Butterfingers, come here. What's all this stuff doing on top of my desk? That's my phone, that's a picture of me and my dad. Right there. In the garbage. All that stuff!"

Later in the day I heard Tony muttering to himself about going to see Rhodey about some sort of project he was going to start soon. I, however, didn't hang around in the hallway as he exited the house and, instead, locked myself in my bedroom and sat on the bed, hugging one of the many pillows tightly to my chest.

It seemed I had a little problem going on, one that went by the name of Tony Stark. What was I going do?

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 **Hope y'all had a good New Years! I sure did. Please remember to favourite and follow (and review if you want to) if you enjoyed this chapter! :)**


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